MANILA, Philippines – The Korean Basketball League champion Anyang KGC was simply too poised for the hard-fighting Rain or Shine side, eking out an 87-77 victory in the 2023 William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium on Thursday.
The Elasto Painters stayed within striking distance but just couldn't break into the 10-point barrier the Koreans put up, with former PBA import Du'Vaughn Maxwell and Ji Hoon Park providing the timely hits to keep the Filipinos at bay.
Rain or Shine trimmed down a once 20-point Anyang lead to just 10 behind a 6-0 spurt from Ange Kouame and Andrei Caracut, 63-73 with 6:40 left.
Park and Maxwell, however, connived on a 9-5 counter run that proved to be enough to cushion a late barrage of triples from ROS.
Park exploded for 25 points as Anyang asserted its mastery over Filipino teams after it also dealt San Miguel Beer a 142-87 beating during the East Asia Super League Champions Week.
Maxwell added 15 points and nine rebounds.
Caracut put up a second-straight stellar showing with 19 points while Kouame added a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Filipinos, who dropped to a 1-5 record in the standings.
Rain or Shine takes a break on Friday before it wraps up its assignments against Japan U22 national team and UC Irvine this weekend.