Rain or Shine survives rough patch vs Blackwater

As Rain or Shine beat another lowly opponent to stretch its winning streak in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, coach Yeng Guiao stressed the importance of staying in-form even when things go otherwise.

“Whenever you go those rough patches, it’s important that you’re not going to collapse or slide all the way down,” Guiao said after the Elasto Painters’ 122-106 mastery of the Blackwater Bossing at Philsports Arena in Pasig City on Wednesday.

Article continues after this advertisement

Counting wins over Magnolia and Terrafirma before the break, Rain or Shine beat a team under .500 for the third straight time though the Elasto Painters had to weather off some close calls in the run.

Against Blackwater, Rain or Shine led by 23, but saw the margin dwindle to seven in the third before Adrian Nocum sparked a pull away that secured a fifth straight triumph after an opening assignment loss in the midseason conference.

“You can have those rough patches, but it’s important that you can make up for it because it’s rare to have a perfect game,” Guiao continued. “For me, it’s about the team having the kind of toughness to withstand those adversities.”

Article continues after this advertisement

The Elasto Painters next face the Phoenix Fuel Masters on Saturday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, another team near the bottom of the table but are coming off a victory over the Dyip.

Difficult stretch

Phoenix is at 2-5 at the moment, and has shown its capability to score upsets when it handed NorthPort its first loss early in the eliminations.

The Batang Pier, meanwhile, were staking their hold of top spot against streaking Barangay Ginebra at press time.

Sustaining toughness will be important as Rain or Shine enters a difficult stretch with games against Converge and NorthPort next week, two teams currently inside the top four.

Nocum scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half, highlighted by an acrobatic layup in the fourth. The Mapua product also had five rebounds and three steals for the Painters.

Import Deon Thompson continued his fine play for the Painters with 25 points and 16 rebounds even as Santi Santillan posted 20 and Anton Asistio took advantage of his entry into the starting lineup to finish with 18 points, four rebounds and seven assists.

Blackwater fell to 1-6 despite another big offensive effort from import George King, who scored 35 points.

Rookie Sedrick Barefield didn’t suit up for the Bossing because of an injury, further compounding the team’s woes.