Rain or Shine powers past Barako Bull behind Chism’s 32

MANILA, Philippines – Import Wayne Chism dropped 32 points on 7-of-13 three-pointers and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters overpowered the Barako Bull Energy, 103-91, for their third straight victory in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday, February 27 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Chism came out firing and uncorked 15 of his total points in the opening period to help set the pace for a 53-point first half output for Rain or Shine, who rose to 5-2 for a share of second place with Talk ’N Text.

“So far it’s been good with Wayne. This is what I expected,” head coach Yeng Guiao said of his import, who also collared 7 rebounds. 

“We were a little slow with Rick Jackson but we are a lot quicker with Wayne. With more flexibility on offense, he can step out for the three or post-up against bigger guys. That creates a lot of opportunities and good looks for our locals.”

Paul Lee had a productive night as well with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and two steals, which neutralized his 4 turnovers. While JR Quinahan and Jeff Chan added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

“It’s a two-week break for us so we wanted to get a win going into the break. We wanted to take this game because we wanted to relax a little bit coming into the All-Star Game,” Guiao said.

The Painters came alive on both sides of the ball in the second period where they outscored the Energy, 23-13, to lead by 20-point bulges before settling for a 53-40 halftime edge.

Momentum permanently stayed on the side of Rain or Shine even in the second half, even as a 7-0 spurt early in the payoff period, including 4 from sophomore Carlo Lastimosa, brought Barako to within 77-69.

Lee countered with 5 straight points of his own – two from the stripe and a triple – to re-establish a double-digit advantage.

Two consecutive fastbreak baskets from Chan then gave the Painters a 93-76 lead with 4:46 to play and the Energy never recovered.

Rain or Shine shot a total of 47% from the field and 56% from downtown to make up for a huge 56-34 deficit on points in the paint. 

“We knew coming into this game that Barako Bull is the best defensive team so far, limiting their opponents to 82 points, and I think 36% or 37% shooting,” Guiao explained.

“All throughout the game we knew that Wayne Chism was quicker than their import. So we just wanted to keep the game fast and take away their size advantage by not settling down on the half court.” 

Barako import Solomon Alabi was limited to 8-of-17 field goal shooting for 23 points and 4 rebounds. JC Intal contributed 19 points, 7 boards and 4 dimes, while Chico Lanete added 14 points. 

The Energy fell to 4-3 following a thrilling escape of Alaska last Tuesday.

Scores:

RAIN OR SHINE (103): Chism 32, Lee 16, Quinahan 12, Chan 11, Norwood 7, Cruz 7, Tang 6, Almazan 4, Uyloan 3, Belga 3, Arana 2, Ibanes 0, Teng 0.

BARAKO (91): Alabi 23, Intal 19, Lanete 14, Marcelo 11, Mercado 9, Lastimosa 6, Garcia 4, Matias 3, Pascual 2, Chua 0, Hubalde 0, Salva 0, Paredes 0, Sorongon 0.

Quarter scores: 30-27, 53-40, 77-62, 103-91. – Rappler.com