MANILA, Philippines – The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters vented their ire from a previous loss as they dumped the NLEX Road Warriors to their 4th straight loss following a 97-86 win in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum Friday, January 26.

Rain or Shine, which the Kia Picanto beat, 98-94, to end its 16-game skid last January 20, banked on Maverick Ahanmisi who scored 20 points on 5 triples on top of 8 rebounds and 3 assists to get back on the winning track and improve to 3-3.

The E-Painters saw their once 21-point lead cut to just 10 points by the Road Warriors early in the fourth quarter, 69-79, before pulling away for good with a 10-0 spurt, 89-69, with 5:32 minutes left.

NLEX made a last ditch comeback attempt, trimming its deficit to 11 points following a Juami Tiongson triple and a pair of Alex Mallari freebies, 82-93, but to no avail.

“I wish we could have played like this last game, but ganoon talaga ang (but that is) basketball. I told the players the only way we can forget the game against Kia is basically to win this game,” said Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia.

Gabe Norwood added 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals in the win while James Yap and Chris Tiu chipped in 12 and 11 markers, respectively.

JR Quinahan dropped a game-high 22 points on top of 6 rebounds for NLEX, but all that went down the drain as the Road Warriors slid to 11th place with a 2-4 card.

Alex Mallari had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists while Kiever Ravena added 14 markers in the loss.

The Road Warriors have not won a game since the new year started.

The Scores:

Rain or Shine 97: Ahanmisi 20, Norwood 13, Yap 12, Tiu 11, Borboran 9, Daquioag 7, Maiquez 6, Nambatac 6, Belga 6, Cruz 3, Ponferada 2, Trollano 2

NLEX 86: Quinahan 22, Mallari 17, Ravena 14, Baguio 9, Tiongson 6, Alas 6, Gotladera 4, Fonacier 3, Uyloan 3, Soyud 2, Monfort 0, Rios 0, Taulava 0

Quarter scores: 25-20; 53-38; 73-62; 97-86