Painters nail second straight win; Energy debut in style

For a while, it looked like Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao was able to predict how it would actually happen.
Until B-Meg shook off the rust in less than two quarters and gave Guiao and his Elasto Painters a run for their money.
Rain or Shine lost an early 16-point lead and needed to play gung-ho in the stretch before prevailing in overtime, 100-94, for the early solo lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum.
Guiao had said on the eve of the match that they were lucky to be the Llamados’ first foes, considering that B-Meg was just coming off a championship and that it would come to the match ill-prepared.
The mercurial coach was spot on, but only in the first period, as his Painters raced to an early commanding lead before the Llamados suddenly played with championship form and even had the best chance of winning it all in regulation.
Rain or Shine had to chop down a seven-point deficit near the halfway mark of the fourth quarter before forging extension at 88-all.
“It’s just a big advantage for us to play them on their first game,” Guiao said in maintaining his pre-game view. “They missed some guys and this is our best chance to win against B-Meg.
“We’re trying to win games like this one. It’s a good exercise for us, a good test for us.” Jamelle Cornley scored 13 points in the first period and finished with 25 and 11 rebounds for the Painters, who were eliminated in the Commissioner’s Cup won by the Llamados in seven games against Talk ‘N Text.
“We know the key to contending in this kind of format is to win as many games as we can early,” added Guiao, who bared that Arizona Reid remains to be on standby considering how well Cornley has been playing.
“Jamelle is the right fit for us. He works hard, plays offense and defense,” he said. “We don’t want an import scoring too many points and taking away opportunities of the locals. He understands that and that’s very important for us.” Gabe Norwood snapped the game’s last tie at 92 with a shotclock-beating triple at the final 1:41 mark, and the Rain or Shine defense held B-Meg to just one more bucket from there as the Painters held on and sealed one of their finest starts in a conference.
Import Marcus Blakely led the Llamados with 28 points, Yancy de Ocampo fired 17 and former two-time MVP James Yap contributed 14, all of them coming in the first three periods.
Meanwhile, Barako Bull also showed its character and poise in the first game, with its 106-101 decision of Powerade practically the carbon copy of the Rain or Shine triumph.
The Energy also zoomed to a 16-point first quarter lead and trailed by six in the third before getting the goods from their veteran locals in the stretch to deal the Tigers a second consecutive loss.
Barako Bull’s hot start was due to the 27 points and 18 rebounds that import Jamine Peterson had in the first half alone.
But that effort almost cost Barako Bull the game, as the young import clearly ran out of gas and was running on fumes in the final two quarters.
“Our import is very unpredictable,” said Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi said.
“He over-exerted himself in the first half and started complaining of cramps in the third period. We’ll try to convince him to pace himself next time.
“I think he wants to prove something because he’s not rated among the imports that are here,” continued Baculi. “He wants to show something and I hope that he can sustain it.” Gary David paced the Tigers with 25 points and Rashad McCants, the celebrated former University of North Carolina star in the US NCAA who is also an NBA veteran, tossed in 23 in what could be his last game on Philippine soil.
Powerade coach Bo Perasol said that they are now shopping around for a replacement for McCants, who, the soft-spoken mentor said, has clearly lost a step and is not the one who can take the Tigers deep in the tournament.