Painters book No. 3 with rout of Express

Manila: Grace B. Castillo

MANILA: Rain or Shine has had it this good once before.
And unlike more than a year ago when no one was talking as if the Elasto Painters deserved it, coach Yeng Guiao is saying that he expected nothing less from his squad.
The Elasto Painters matched the finest start in franchise history last night after trouncing Air21, 106-92, for their third straight win that kept them on top of the PBA Governors’ Cup heap at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
“This is exactly what we prepared for (in the off-season), and so far, everything is falling into place,” Guiao said after getting 21 points and 14 rebounds from import Jamelle Cornley. “I am very happy with the way we defended tonight.” Rain or Shine has never had a 0-3 start since the Commissioner’s Cup last year, when Guiao took over. But no one believed the Painters then, and maybe with reason, as they failed to go deep in the playoffs in that tournament.
“We’re playing the kind of game we want – balanced scoring, good ball movement, switching on defense,” Guiao continued. “The only thing we’re not happy about is we missed a lot of free throws in this game.” Three locals scored in double digits with Jeff Chan shooting 16 built around five conversions from three-point land, and all 12 players that Guiao put on the floor managed to contribute offensively.
And how Rain or Shine played was the complete opposite of how Air21 came out, as only Paolo Hubalde was able to score in double figures and only five men managed to contribute in the second half.
Had it not been for import Zach Graham, who finished with 37 markers and 20 boards, it would have been an uglier loss for the Express, who failed to sustain the brilliance of a 101-88 victory over Talk ‘N Text last Saturday.
The Painters were dragged into a close game only in the first period, but put on their skates from the second quarter on before eventually taking an 84-64 lead – the largest in the game – when Chan drained a triple that beat the shot clock with 1:21 left in the third.
“One thing we had in mind was no one relaxes mentally, even if we had a good lead,” Guiao added. “We more or less achieved what we set out to do for this game.” And while Rain or Shine stayed undefeated, Petron Blaze, which came into last night’s game seeking to extend a two-game streak, fell by the wayside.
And with little challenge.
Talk ‘N Text, which lost this tournament last year despite a hot start and got denied of a Grand Slam by the Boosters, ripped Petron in the nightcap, 102-87 after finally playing like the powerhouse that it is.
Paul Harris and Ranidel de Ocampo combined for 50 points, and the Tropang Texters broke away in the second half to stop the Boosters on their tracks and finally get in the groove.
The Talk ‘N Text win also left idle Powerade as the only winless squad in the 10-team field, and the Tigers hope to address that after coming to terms with Omar Sneed, who will take the place of Rashad McCants.
Sneed planed in Wednesday morning and immediately started working out with the Tigers, who let go of McCants after two straight losses. The former University of North Carolina star couldn’t live up to the hype of his arrival and became the first casualty of the conference.
Powerade clashes with Alaska tomorrow.
Jared Dillinger scored 15 points, and Japeth Aguilar came off the bench late in the second quarter and hit his first three shots to finish with 10.
A 17-1 run early in the third period turned the tide in favor of the Texters, who built leads of as large as 18 in the period and totally snuffed the fight out of the Boosters from there.
Eddie Basden, also an NBA veteran like McCants, paced the Boosters with 19 points like rookie Chris Lutz.