Painters stop Tigers on their tracks

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine dished out a balanced offensive and won its defensive matchups with Coca-Cola as the Elasto Painters tamed the Tigers, 91-80, in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

James Penny came out to play for the Tigers despite a swollen face but there was no stopping the Elasto Painters from bouncing back from a sorry setback to the Barangay Ginebra Kings last Saturday.

The Elasto Painters sat on a 17-point halftime cushion and held on to the lead to the finish as they notched a third win in five starts.

The Tigers missed a shot at the solo lead and instead slid to third place, percentage-wise, at 4-2 (.667).

Meanwhile, Philippine Cup finalists B-MEG Derby Ace and Alaska Milk figure in a grudge match today in the Cagayan de Oro stop of the Phoenix PBA Fuel on Tour. They play at 5:30 p.m. at the Xavier University Gym.

Jai Lewis, wasting an opportunity to save Rain or Shine from defeat versus Ginebra, knocked in the crucial shots this time to personally hold off a rallying Coca-Cola side.

“Basketball is a game of run. We got the key run at endgame tonight,” said the burly Rain or Shine import who finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Hitting his stride after taking off a bothersome facemask in the second quarter, Penny collected 34 points and 13 rebounds but failed to get the needed support from his teammates – no thanks to Coke’s pesky defensive matchups.

“We played good matchup defense,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia.

Lewis held down Asi Taulava to four points with Gabe Norwood and Jireh Ibanes also putting efficient defensive efforts against Gary David and Mark Macapagal, respectively.

The Elasto Painters made a lethal move in the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers, 28-11, to take a 47-30 spread at the half.

The Tigers fell way behind early with Penny held down to seven points in the first 24 minutes of play.

Already getting rid of the facemask, Penny, who sustained a cut above the right eye in their last game against Derby Ace, went hot in the third period, enabling the Tigers to close in at 49-53.

Penny himself highlighted their attack with a drive-in slam before Gabe Norwood retaliated with his own dunk off Asi Taulava.

The Elasto Painters were quick to adjust, going to JayR Reyes and Eddie Laure as they regained a double-digit advantage at 73-63 early in the fourth period.

The scores:

First Game

Rain or Shine 91 – Lewis 19, Mercado 17, Reyes 14, Norwood 13, Arana 8, Chan 6, Laure 6, Ibanes 5, Hrabak 3, Tang 0, Salangsang 0.

Coca-Cola 80 – Penny 34, Espino 11, David 10, Cruz 7, Lanete 6, Rodriguez 4, Taulava 4, Bono 2, Macapagal 2, Allera 0, Ross 0, Rizada 0, Gonzales 0.

Quarterscores: 19-19, 47-30, 65-59, 91-80