Rain or Shine continues hot streak, rains treys on Barako

MANILA, Philippines -- Given open looks from the outside, Wayne Chism rifled in seven three-pointers to highlight a 32-point performance that powered Rain or Shine to a crucial 103-91 win over Barako Bull and closer to the playoffs of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum  Friday night.

With Barako Bull opting to defend the paint a lot more than the perimeter, the Elasto Painters drained a total of 12 treys in a torrid shooting that handed them a third straight victory and fifth in seven games prior to their long All-Star break.

A team thriving on defense, the Energy failed to neutralize the surging E-Painters and slid down to a four-way logjam at third place with the Globalport Batang Pier, the Purefoods Star Hotshots and the Barangay Ginebra Kings at 4-3.

Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao suits up for one last time with Kia before leaving for the US for his Floyd Mayweather buildup as the Carnival play the Blackwater Elite in a Petron Blaze Saturday Special at The Arena in San Juan.

Tip off is at 5 p.m. in the match where the Carnival (3-4) try to hit the .500 mark against the Blackwater side now fighting for survival at 1-6.

“We go on a long two-week break for the All-Stars after this game, and it’s important for us to get a win,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao. “We wanted this win badly. We wanted to take this break and relax a little bit in the All-Star break.”

Guiao acknowledged the performance of Chism as a big key in the win that got them closer to the post-elims play.

“Going to this game, we knew Barako is among the league’s top defensive teams, holding their opponents below 90 points. We wanted to draw out Sol Alabi and get some space in the middle. We hit our treys and took away their advantage,” Guiao said.

Chism went 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, taking away Alabi’s advantage in the middle.

Before this game, Alabi was a monster blocker, swatting away 4.7 shots a game – better than the averages of all the other 11 teams.

The seven-foot import failed to get even one this time as the Elasto Painters played mostly from the outside, shooting 47 percent from the field as against the Energy’s 41-percent clip.

Paul Lee, JR Quinahan and Jeff Chan contributed double-digit outputs as the E-Painters overwhelmed the Energy, leading by 20 points twice in the lopsided contest.

From a close 30-27 count at the start of the second quarter, Chism and Quinahan fueled a mighty RoS run giving the E-Painters their first 20-point spread at 51-31.

Chism banged away back-to-back three-pointers as Rain or Shine reestablished a 20-point margin, 70-50, in the third quarter.

“So far, it’s been good with Wayne (Chism) and that’s what we expected. We’re slower with (Rick) Jackson. With Chism, we have more flexibility and that creates more opportunities and good looks for our locals,” said Guiao.

“Overall, it’s shaping up to be what I expected to be,” added Guiao, whose team has gone 2-0 with their comebacking import.