Rain or Shine bucks Bowles’ 39 to bury Star

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Jeff Chan went 5-of-9 from 3-point land for 17 points on top of 6 rebounds and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters pulled away in the fourth quarter to keep the Star Hotshots winless, 95-86, in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday, February 13 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

The Painters, who were bridesmaids in the same conference last season, punched in their first win against a team struggling out of the gates.

Hotshots import Denzel Bowles dropped 39 points and 18 rebounds but it wasn’t enough for the Hotshots to get a win and they fell to 0-2.

Rain or Shine import Wayne Chism had 13 points, 8 rebounds and two blocks as the team played sans guard Paul Lee who is still recovering from a knee injury. Jericho Cruz also had 13 markers, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, while Beau Belga had 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Maverick Ahanmisi and JR Quiñahan had 10 points apiece in a win that head coach Yeng Guiao felt was not satisfied with.

“It’s not as smooth as we wanted it to be. First of all, Wayne Chism is still struggling, he’s trying to get his game back. Jeff played a good game even if he practiced just 3 or 4 times with us after resting his elbow from an injury,” explained Guiao, whose team registered 22 assists.

(READ: Guiao on banned Johnson: ‘He’s a world-class a*shole’)

“Jericho Cruz, the same thing, he also practiced 3 or 4 times but they came out playing well today. I think we’re still a little bit out of shape, we didn’t get enough rest from the off-season. But nothing will happen about that, we can’t rest anymore, so we just have to live with what we have.”

Guiao said he hopes Lee will be back in two weeks.

The Painters blew an early 36-24 lead and it became a nip-and-tuck affair until early in the fourth, as Rain or Shine pulled away from a 72-71 lead with over 7 minutes left and made it 85-77 on a Belga 3-pointer 4 minutes later.

Chism then made a jump short for the 89-79 edge with 1:25 to go as the hapless Star still finds it difficult to get going.

Bowles had little help from the rest of the Hotshots with Allein Maliksi the only other player in double figures with 10 points. Rafi Reavis had 8 markers, while Mark Barroca, who flirted with a triple-double in Star’s loss to Meralco, settled for 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

PJ Simon went sour from the field (3-of-14) for 6 points in 34 minutes, while James Yap was one-of-6 for just 4 points and 7 rebounds. Marc Pingris added two points and 3 rebounds in 24 minutes.

Scores: 

Rain or Shine (95): Chan 17, Chism 13, Cruz 13, Belga 12, Ahanmisi 10, Quinahan 10, Trollano 8, Tiu 6, Norwood 3, Teng 2, Almazan 1, Ibanes 0, Nimes 0, Ponferrada 0.

Star (86): Bowles 39, Maliksi 10, Reavis 8, Barroca 7, Simon 6, Melton 5, Yap 4, Cruz 3, Pingris 2, Sangalang 2.

Quarter scores: 24-22, 44-44, 64-63, 95-86.

 – Rappler.com