James Yap, now playing for Rain or Shine, squares off against fellow veteran Gary David, who also just signed up with his new team, the Mahindra Floodbusters. (PBA IMAGES).
ANTIPOLO — Rain or Shine continued to show that, despite a major shakeup in team composition in the preseason, it belongs with the big boys in the PBA and would be just fine for the rest of the season.
Mahindra, on the other hand, after gaining much respect last season, obviously has a lot of work to do before totally losing that respect.
The Elasto Painters flaunted their old form and tore the Floodbusters to shreds, leading by as large as 49 points on the way to a 105-83 victory over pathetic Mahindra for their second straight victory and a piece of the early Philippine Cup lead at Ynares Center here.
Jericho Cruz scored 15 points, sophomore point guard Maverick Ahanmisi added 14 and everybody but Ronnie Matias scored for new coach Caloy Garcia as the Painters dealt the Floodbusters a second straight drubbing to join Blackwater for the early lead.
Only a listless fourth quarter allowed Mahindra to escape with one of the ugliest losses in the history of the league as the Painters cruised in the final 12 minutes after taking a 92-48 lead into the payoff frame.
Rain or Shine lost head coach Yeng Guiao, franchise player Paul Lee and reliable big man JR Quiñahan to different teams in the offseason.
And just when most experts had said that the Painters will be a far different team than what Guiao handled in the previous six seasons, Rain or Shine brought down title-favorite TNT KaTropa with authority last week and waltzed through the Floodbusters last night.