Welcoat opens bid with bang

Welcoat Paints, drawing tremendous boost from its new acquisitions, overpowered Sunkist-University of Santo Tomas, 71-60, at the start yesterday of the PBL Platinum Cup at the Pasig Sports Center.

James Yap, Irvin Sotto and JR Reyes, acquired by the team either from the dispersal draft or the rookie pool, put in significant numbers as the Paintmasters made a rousing debut in the season-ending tourney.

Montana Jewels rode high on the double-double game of Jon Dan Salvador as it stunned Unity Cup champion Fash Liquid Power, 70-67, in the other game. Salvador pumped in 16 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.

"Sunkist-UST is a college team full of energy. We just tried to match the amount of energy they put in the game," said Welcoat coach Leo Austria before lauding his new recruits.

But new faces on the Welcoat team really made their presence felt with Yap fuelling the team’s breakaway in the third quarter before Sotto and Reyes took over in the fourth canto.

Yap, formerly of ICTSI-La Salle, made eight straight points in a decisive run bridging the last two quarters to give Welcoat a 16-point advantage.

Sotto and Reyes, meanwhile, combined for nine points down the stretch as the Paintmasters clinched the emphatic victory that spoke well of the team’s capability to win another championship in the country’s premier amateur league.

Yap and Sotto rifled in 14 points apiece while Reyes added eight. American guard Alex Compton led the Tigers also with 14.

But not even Compton’s court wizardry could overcome Welcoat’s steady game.