Rain or Shine cruises past TNT to begin post-Yeng Guiao era

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters built on a solid opening quarter and never looked back, overhwleming TNT, 101-87, on Wednesday in their debut game in the PBA Philippine Cup.

It was the Elasto Painters' first game under coach Caloy Garcia, who took over the reins of the team after Yeng Guiao moved to NLEX before the season. Guiao led Rain or Shine to two PBA titles during his five-year run with the franchise.

The Elasto Painters seemed to hardly miss a beat. Jericho Cruz scored 18 points, while Beau Belga led the frontline with 14 points and seven boards. Gabe Norwood chipped in 13 markers.

Rain or Shine also got a lot of help from the bench, with Raymond Almazan scoring 13 points. Rookie Mike Tolomia had 11 points in less than 16 minutes, while Maverick Ahanmisi and Jay Washington tallied 10 and nine points, respectively.

The Elasto Painters led by as many as 18 points in the fourth after a Beau Belga triple with 3:09 left in the game. TNT was able to trim the lead to just 10 at the 1:26 mark, but five straight from Gabe Norwood put the game away.

Missing ace guard Jayson Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo carried TNT with 24 points, while Troy Rosario came off the bench for 16. Larry Fonacier and Roger Pogoy had nine points each, while Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Ryan Reyes combined for 15 more markers.

Offseason acquisition James Yap, who joined Rain or Shine in exchange for Paul Lee, did not play as he recovers from knee surgery. --JST, GMA News