PBA: Rain or Shine breaks into win column as Gian Mamuyac leads way vs. Tolentino-less NorthPort

Gian Mamuyac waxed hot early before the rest of Rain or Shine finished the job en route to a 113-96 win over undermanned NorthPort in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-2 guard dropped 18 points in the first half, which saw the Elasto Painters building an 18-point lead, before he finished with 22 markers, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Four other Elasto Painters breached the double-digit scoring with Andrei Caracut and Caelan Tiongson each tallying 15 points while Santi Santillan and Adrian Nocum posted 17 and 10 markers off the bench.

The collective effort improved Rain or Shine's record to 1-1 while the Batang Pier, who were missing the services of reigning Commissioner's Cup Best Player of the Conference Arvin Tolentino, dropped to a similar 1-1 card.

Without Tolentino, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao said they had a lucky break, especially after the Batang Pier clawed their way back from an early deficit before the Elasto Painters pulled away in the fourth.  

"Una, malaking bagay na wala si Arvin. We prepared for Arvin to play today, it's just a lucky break na hindi siya nakapaglaro. We feel na kung naglaro siya magiiba 'yung complexion ng laro talaga," Guiao said.

"Napakalaging bagay din ng offensive rebounds. We were missing shots, actually, that were open but what saved the day for us was our offensive rebounding. It's a testament to the hard work, alam namin na maliit kami going to this game. Wala si Beau (Belga), wala si Keith (Datu), of course si Luis (Villegas) wala pa."

[First, it's a big deal that Arvin wasn't there. We prepared for Arvin to play today, it's just a lucky break that he wasn't able to play. We feel if he played, it would have changed the complexion of the game... The offensive rebounds were also a big deal. We were missing shots, actually, that were open but what saved the day for us was our offensive rebounding. It's a testament to the hard work, we know that we would be small going to this game. Beau wasn't here, Keith wasn't here, of course, Luis is not yet here.]

Rain or Shine started off strong allowing them to take a 31-17 lead after the first, but the Batang Pier slowly roared back with veterans Jio Jalalon and Joshua Munzon as well as Will Navarro leading their second-quarter barrage to trail by just eight at the break, 48-56.

They even cut that to four when Navarro hit back-to-back baskets to open the third, 52-56.

But Nocum and Anton Asistio found their shooting with the latter knocking down a pair of three-pointers for a 69-58 cushion before seasoned high-flyer Gabe Norwood pushed their lead to 73-62 off two freebies.

Caracut took over in the payoff period by nailing 12 of his 15 total points in the final frame, including a triple that sent Rain or Shine to a 102-85 advantage with 5:38 to go.

Navarro paced NorthPort with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds while Jalalon and Evan Nelle both finished with 11 markers.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News