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 last night.
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.
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 ROS barrage.
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.
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 on the weekend.