PBA: Rain or Shine whips San Mig Coffee, spoils Denzel Bowles' return 

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painter kept the San Mig Coffee Mixers winless with a statement  93-65 thumping, Friday at the SM MOA Arena. In the process, they also spoiled Denzel Bowles' return to the PBA, as last season's Best Import was held to 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting, along with eight turnovers. He did add 14 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. After playing neck-and-neck in the first half, the Elasto Painters overwhelmed San Mig Coffee with a 30-14 deluge in the third quarter, often attacking in the open court and leaving the Mixers in the dust. In all, the Elasto Painters led the Mixers in fast break points, 25-9, while limiting San Mig Coffee to only 34 points in the second half. Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao, however, was in no mood to celebrate after the game. Guiao, never one to mince words with the league's officiating crews, was protesting a pair of non-calls in the final 10.4 seconds of the game, which for him, spoiled the victory. "I don't think the score matters, the refs just need to do their job. It doesn't matter what part of the game it is," said Yeng Guiao, citing at least two obvious fouls in the game's dying seconds. "It was San Mig Coffee's off-night tonight and I got what I wanted, which was Denzel Bowles not being in shape," Guiao added. Jervy Cruz was named the game's best player for scoring 16 points and hauling down six rebounds. Chris Tiu scored 12 of his 15 points in garbage time and handed out eight assists, while import Bruno Sundov tallied 14 points and 11 boards. Larry Rodriguez added 10 points and five rebounds, four of them coming off the offensive glass. Beau Belga scored only four points, but grabbed 10 rebounds. Rain or Shine (2-1) rose to third place in the standings, tying the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters. Both teams were aggressive offensively in the first quarter. James Yap and Bowles carried the Mixers early, scoring the team's first seven markers. Meanwhile, Rain or Shine leaned on 7'3" Croatian Bruno Sundov to put points on the board. But it was San Mig Coffee who gained initial separation with under three minutes to play, 15-11, after a Yap fadeaway and a lay-up by Bowles. However, the Elasto Painters fought back as Beau Belga and Jervy Cruz hustled in transition to tie the game after one quarter, 17-17. San Mig Coffee caught Rain or Shine unaware in the second quarter, as they started the period with seven unanswered points, highlighted by an Alex Mallari triple. The Elasto Painters rallied back behind Cruz in a 9-2 stretch, knotting the tally anew at 26-apiece with six minutes to play. The game slowed down as they both teams tried to work through their respective imports, but were met with stiff interior defense. The Elasto Painters, however, edged ahead as Larry Rodriguez snuck in five points beneath the rim to make it a 33-26 game with under three minutes to go in the half. Despite their team's struggles, Yap and Yancy De Ocampo found rhythm shots in transition to make it a two-point game with just over two minutes to play. Sundov countered with a split from the line with 42 seconds remaining and TY Tang followed it with an off-balance jumper in transition to ward off the Mixers at the half, 36-31. The Elasto Painters played with a renewed energy after the break, crashing the boards and driving into the lane. A Sundov triple keyed a 12-4 run that put the Elasto Painters ahead by double digits, 48-35, with five minutes gone in the period. Joe DeVance found a couple buckets for the Mixers with six minutes to play. But on the other end, San Mig Coffee was unable to keep Rain or Shine off the free throw stripe. Transition pressure by the Elasto Painters then allowed for a Norwood triple and a breakaway bucket by Jireh Ibañes, pushing the lead to 57-39. The Mixers would only manage one more field goal in the last three and a half minutes, a basket by PJ Simon. Meanwhile, Rain or Shine closed the quarter with a 21-point lead, 66-45. In the third period, the Elasto Painters made 11-of-25 attempts from the field (44 percent), boosted by a 10-0 margin in points scored in the open court. In contrast, San Mig Coffee managed only a 5-of-13 clip (38.5 percent). They also committed eight turnovers to Rain or Shine's five, resulting in an 11-1 spread in second-chance points for the Elasto Painters. Cruz opened the final quarter with consecutive hits against a reeling San Mig Coffee team, and both sides began to slowly clear the bench. The Elasto Painters' reserves made the most of the garbage minutes, as Chris Tiu buried back-to-back triples at around the five minute mark to extend the lead to 30, 82-52. Rain or Shine had eight players with at least four rebounds each and held a 63-44 advantage on the glass (23-9 offensive). The Elasto Painters also capitalized on the 25-17 turnover margin, producing 37 points off turnovers against 12 by San Mig Coffee. The Mixers, who were counting on a huge game from returning import Bowles, sank to the bottom of the league standings and joined Barangay Ginebra San Miguel with identical 0-3 cards. Alex Mallari led San Mig Coffee with 15 points, while James Yap added 13 markers. - RAF/AMD, GMA News