Rain or Shine steamrolls Mahindra as James Yap notches milestone in debut

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters welcomed James Yap in style on Wednesday, rolling past Mahindra, 105-83, at Ynares Center in Antipolo.

But the final score was not quite as indicative of the lopsided game, as the Elasto Painters led by as much as 49 points during the game before taking it easy in the final period.

"Poor fourth quarter for us, we could have played better," said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia. "Told them we shouldn't be looking at the scores because we need to be consistent. Marami kaming turnovers nung fourth quarter. we allowed them to attack the basket with no defense at all. If the game was close, we could have lost the game."

Heading into the final turn, Rain or Shine was ahead 92-48, before Mahindra exploded for a 35-13 difference in the fourth period.

Yap, acquired prior to the season in a trade for Paul Lee, debuted for the Elasto Painters in the second period. He scored 10 points including a pair of three-pointers that gave him membership into elite 1,000 three pointers club.

With his three-pointer at the 6:14 mark of the second meriod, Yap joined Jimmy Alapag, Allan Caidic, Ronnie Magsanoc, Dondon Hontiveros, and Al Solis. Another three-pointer from Yap in the fourth quarter gave him one more than Solis for the fifth spot in the PBA's all-time three point ranking.

Jericho Cruz led Rain or Shine with 15 points, while Maverick Ahanmisi added 14. Chris Tiu tallied 11.

Russel Escoto, Alex Mallari, and Jonathan Paniamogan all had 10 points each to lead Mahindra.

With the win, Rain or Shine tied Blackwater atop the standings with a 2-0 win-loss slate, while Mahindra sank to the bottom of the standings at 0-2. --JST, GMA News