CHISM-LED RAIN OR SHINE STREAKS TO THIRD STRAIGHT WIN
Wayne Chism anchored Rain or Shine to its third straight win as the Elasto Painters grabbed a share of the second place in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, holding off Barako Bull 103-91 Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Hitting their long bombs and keeping the game at a fast pace, the Elasto Painters dominated the game led by Chism who recorded 32 points, powered by a 7-of-13 shooting from threes, to go with seven rebounds.
“It’s shaping out to be what I expected it to be,” said Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao, his team improving to 5-2 going into the All-Star break.
The fiery coach praised their import who has done an amiable job since coming in as a replacement for original reinforcement Rick Jackson.
“It’s been good with Wayne, and it’s what I expected it to be,” Guiao said. “We’re a little slow with Rick Jackson, but he’s not a bad import. We’re just a lot quicker with Chism as our import, and he gives us more flexibility in offense. He could step in to the three and post up if he wants to. That creates a lot of opportunities and good looks for our locals who are also giving good contributions on offense.”
And that proved to be a big weapon in their artillery today as they went up against a Barako Bull squad which had the towering Solomon Alabi in their frontline.
“Chism was quicker than their import so we wanted to keep the game fast by not settling in the half court,” Guiao continued. “We knew beforehand that Barako Bull is the best defensive team so far. They limit their opponents to 82 points and a 32-percent field goal shooting. We just wanted to draw out Alabi and get some space in the middle, but we were able to make our threes and that gave us a big advantage.”
Rain or Shine went 12-of-35 from threes, which helped them put away Barako Bull, as the Energy were only able to make three treys in the game.
Paul Lee added 16 markers, six rebounds, and six assists while JR Quinahan chipped in 12 points and six dimes. Jeff Chan also had 11 in the win.
“We go on a long two-week break for us. It’s important for us to get a win before we go to a break,” said Guiao. “We wanted this win badly. We wanted to take this break and relax to the All-Star Weekend with a win.”
Rain or Shine used a strong second quarter to break away from the Energy, taking a 20-point lead which they kept up until midway through the third quarter.
Barako Bull, however, would climb back and trim the lead to as low as eight, 77-69. The Energy would continue that fightback up until the fourth quarter, but Jeff Chan and Chism would put the nail in the coffin for Rain or Shine, capped off by a Raymond Almazan dunk with 40 seconds left to play to put the game away, 101-89.
The loss placed Barako Bull in a four-way tie for the fourth spot at 4-3, their record identical to those of Purefoods, Brgy. Ginebra, and GlobalPort.
Alabi still topped the Energy with a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds, while JC Intal finished with 19 markers, seven boards, and four assists. (RL)
The 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.
BARAKO BULL 91 – Alabi 23, Intal 19, Lanete 14, Marcelo 11, Mercado 9, Lastimosa 6, Garcia 4, Matias 3, Pascual 2, Chua 0, Hubalde 0.
Quarterscores: 30-27, 53-40, 77-62, 103-91.
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