RAIN or Shine regained top form as it overwhelmed NLEX, 121-94, to snap a three-game skid in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Coming off a humiliating 26-point loss to Alaska last Saturday, the Elasto Painters vented their ire on the Road Warriors by putting on a great start and an even better finish to roll to their first victory in four games.
Antoine Wright showed some improvement as he shone on both ends to lead the E-Painters, who handed the Road Warriors their second straight loss to tie their victims with a 2-3 win-loss record.
“We finally got our rhythm back,” E-Painters coach Yeng Guiao said. “I hope we can be consistent with it. We got our running game, passing game, and rebounding game back.”
The E-Painters outran the Road Warriors with 33 points off turnovers and 26 fast-break points, dished out 33 assists, and outrebounded their opponents, 58-42.
Wright made just six of his 16 attempts for a paltry 37.5 percent, but he made up for his poor shooting in other areas as he flirted with a triple-double of 20 points, nine boards, and seven assists in 26 minutes.
The ROS import also left an imprint in limiting his fellow NBA veteran Al Thornton to just 19 points in 37 minutes.
It was a balanced effort overall for the Painters, who had nine players score at least eight points each as they maintained a sizeable lead that ballooned to 29 points late in the payoff period.
The scores:
ROS 121 – Wright 20, Ponferada 15, Almazan 14, Chan 12, Cruz 12, Quinahan 12, Ahanmisi 10, Teng 9, Norwood 8, Belga 3, Tiu 3, Matias 2, Trollano 1, Ibanes 0, Nimes 0
NLEX 94 – Thornton 19, Anthony 17, Taulava 14, Reyes 12, Villanueva J. 10, Enciso 7, Lanete 7, Alas 4, Cardona 2, Khobuntin 2, Arboleda 0, Villanueva E. 0, Rios 0
Quarterscores: 29-22, 58-43, 85-70, 121-94.