Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine blocks the shot of Kia’s Michael Butscher. The Elasto Painters easily defeated Kia, 117-88 for their second straight win in the 40th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
(INQUIRER PHOTO)
Paul Lee returned from a knee injury and promptly made an impact, leading the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to a 117-88 dumping of expansion team Kia Sorento last night in the 40th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Lee wound up with 22 points and grabbed four rebounds as Rain or Shine picked up their second straight win after dropping their opening assignment against the San Miguel Beermen, 79-87 last Oct. 21.
Lee failed to finish that game after suffering a hyper-extended knee in the second quarter.
Without Lee, the Elasto Painters had to rally from double-digit deficits before downing another expansion team Blackwater Elite, 82-75, last Friday.
Rain or Shine turned the game into a complete mismatch, dealing Kia another blowout loss.
Kia marked its league debut with a come-from-behind 80-66 win over Blackwater.
Kia, however, was pulled back to earth when it lost badly to the Barangay Ginebra Kings last Saturday, 55-87.
Rain or Shine toyed with Kia’s anemic defense, resulting to seven players scoring in double figures.
Beau Belga finished with 16 markers, TY Tang delivered 15, Jericho Cruz, Jeric Teng 12 and Jervy Cruz each score 12, while Jonathan Uyloan contributed 10.
Rain or Shine jumped to a hot start, staging a a 14-6 and went on to score 36 points in the first quarter alone while limiting Kia to just 25.
With Jervy, Tang and Jericho combining forces, Rain or Shine continued to punish Kia in the second period and erected a 59-46 lead at halftime.
Tang ended the first with 13 points.
Lee unloaded five straight points in a searing rally that saw the Elasto Painters extending their lead to 18, 81-63, in the closing minutes of the third period.
Rain or Shine further broke the game wide open when they started the fourth with a 10-0 blast for a whopping 91-65 advantage.
The lead went as high as 29 points, 96-67, with Lee dropping a three-pointer and completing a layup.
Reil Cervantes topped Kia with 18 points, while Alvin Padilla added 17.
LA Revilla and Rudy Lingganay each scored 10 markers for Kia, which again played without its playing-coach Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao will not play for Kia until after his fight against Chris Algieri on Nov. 23 in Macau.
BOX SCORES
RAIN OR SHINE (117)- Lee 22, Belga 16, Tang 15, Cruz Jericho 12, Teng 12, Cruz Jervy 12, Uyloan 10, Quinahan 6, Almazan 6, Ibanes 4, Chan 2, Norwood 0.
KIA (88)- Cervantes 18, Padilla 17, Revilla 10, Lingganay 10, Thiele 7, Dehesa 4, Alvarez 4, Pascual 4, Raymundo 4, Buensuceso 3, Alonzo 2, Saldua 2, Burtscher 2, Ighalo 1, Bagatsing 0. QUARTERSCORES: 36-25, 59-46, 81-65, 117-88