MANILA, Philippines – The Rain or Shine Elastopainters finally got their offense going after back-to-back poor shooting nights with a 21-point demoliton of the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 120-99 at the Araneta Coliseum Wednesday, January 17. 

Rain or Shine held a 39-13 lead after the first quarter before the Fuel Masters found their groove in the second period to cut their deficit to 16, 43-59.

That, however, was not enough to douse the E-Painters’ fiery offensive exploits as they opened the second half with a 29-7 spurt, sparked by Ed Daquioag’s 9 points and capped by back-to-back Chris Tiu triples, for a 39-point advantage, 86-47, their biggest of the game.

Phoenix made runs here and there but Rain or Shine’s lead was too big to overcome.

“I think the players just wanted to win today. We played two bad games and we got two losses. I told them after the loss against Global(port) that that’s not the team I know, especially that we only scored 70 points. I told them I want a running team and I just challenged in today’s game that from beginning to end, I just want a running team,” said Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia.

Daquioag poured in a game-high 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in less than 22 minutes of action while James Yap bucked a string of off nights with 20 markers, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the E-Painters. 

Tiu had an all-around game with 17 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. 

Matthew Wright and Jayson Perkins finished with 17 points apiece for Phoenix.

Both teams are tied with 2-2 cards with the Fuel Masters seeing its two-game winning streak come to an end. 

The Scores: 

Rain or Shine (120): Daquioag 21, Yap 20, Maiquez 18, Tiu 17, Nambatac 11, Ponferada 10, Borboran 4, Norwood 4, Trollano 3, Belga 2, Matias 0.

Phoenix (99): Wright 17, Perkins 17, Alolino 12, Chan 11, Dehesa 11, Intal 10, Eriobu 7, Kramer 5, Jazul 5, Mendoza 2, Wilson 2, Chua 0, Revilla 0.

Quarter scores: 39-13, 57-40, 98-67, 120-99.

– Rappler.com