New-look Rain or Shine cruises past TNT KaTropa
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters marked their first outing after the departure of coach Yeng Guiao with a win.
Showing the toughness and ferocity developed under their old mentor, the E-Painters drubbed the TNT KaTropa Texters, 101-87, in an auspicious debut in PBA Season 42 Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Raymond Almazan, Jericho Cruz, Beau Belga, Gabe Norwood, Maverick Ahanmisi and rookie Mike Tolomia all scored in double figures in a balanced offense the E-Painters showcased in their return under coach Caloy Garcia.
Almazan churned out a double-double game with 13 points and 12 rebounds in his first game under his fresh contract worth P10.08 million in two years.
Cruz top scored with 18 points while Belga, Norwood, Ahanmisi and Tolomia added at least 10 points each.
“Before the game, I just told the guys coach Yeng is not arriving tonight. We’re gonna miss him but we have to move on. The guys came out and showed the character they developed in the past,” said Garcia.
“It’s a good game for us, and it doesn’t stop with just one game. Hopefully, the team comes out with the same character every game. Yung lang naman ang hinihingi ko sa kanila,” Garcia also said.
Tolomia, the team’s Gilas draftee, had a solid PBA debut with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and one
steal against one error in 15:57 minutes of action.
“Di ko nakita yun sa ensayo. Siguro excited magpakita sa kanyang college coach (Nash Racela),” said Garcia.
Jay Washington, a trade recruit in exchange for JR Quinahan, contributed nine points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
In one crucial stretch in the second half, Garcia played a three-big combination among Washington, Almazan and Belga that helped fuel their breakaway.
The E-Painters actually dominated almost throughout the TNT side that struggled minus ace guard Jayson
Castro. But ROS was also without James Yap.
Rain or Shine opened a double-digit spread, 40-28, late in the second quarter and stayed in the lead until the Texters waged a chase and caught up at 51-all in the third.
But the E-Painters quickly got their act together again, storming away anew at 64-54, and held on to the finish.
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