Rain or Shine beats San Miguel, climbs to 3-0

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga, and Jeff Chan all hit crucial shots down the stretch as the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters remained undefeated and overcame the San Miguel Beermen, 99-84, in the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday, November 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Painters led by as much 16 points in the third quarter before the defending champions trimmed the lead to as low as 8 points late in the payoff period. But Norwood knocked down a tough looper, as Belga followed that up with a dagger 3-pointer, and Chan added another basket for good measure in the final 2:30 to permanently hold off their foes.

“We just found a way to play good defense today,” said head coach Yeng Guiao. “Before this game we couldn’t decide whether we were going to focus on stopping Fajardo in the lane or extend out to their guards who can shoot the 3. The guys put on a good effort helping each other out.”

It was, indeed, a collective effort as Raymond Almazan, Belga, and Chan had 15 points each for Rain or Shine, which took an early hold of the top spot with a 3-0 record.

Lanky big man Almazan added 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks while Belga grabbed 7 boards.

Wingmen Norwood and Maverick Ahanmisi finished with 14 points apiece. Norwood saw heavy minutes (31:16) and also contributed 7 boards, 3 dimes, and two steals.

Guiao was especially happy with the performance of his third overall pick this year Ahanmisi, who also played over 31 minutes and shot 6-for-13 from the field to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a theft.

“A lot of people were doubting the ability of Maverick Ahanmisi. He showed he can play this game in this league,” Guiao declared. “It’s just a validation of our judgment on draft day.”

It was certainly not a walk in the park for Rain or Shine Wednesday night as they, too, had to battle back from a double-digit deficit – 33-22 in the second quarter – before they broke the game open with a 30-14 third quarter output.

San Miguel looked to climb back but it proved impossible as they shot a horrible 7-for-35 from 3-point range.

“It’s just one of those days when you’re able to disrupt the rhythm of San Miguel. It’s very hard to disrupt their rhythm and we just found a way today,” said Guiao. “We’re not sure it’s going to work next time but at least we’re past San Miguel in the elimination round.”

Alex Cabagnot led all scorers with 16 points, while back-to-back MVP June Mar Fajardo had just 13 points and 10 rebounds as he suffocated amid the Painters’ defense.

Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos added 12 points apiece while Gabby Espinas and Chris Ross had 10 markers each as the Beermen dropped to 2-1.

“Things just fell into place for us,” said Guiao, though he still rued the absence of star guard Paul Lee who is nursing a knee injury.

“We still miss Paul (Lee) but we miss him a little less if we’re winning.” – Rappler.com