Rain or Shine sinks import-less Alaska

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine simply outplayed an all-Filipino Alaska Milk side, pulling off a 113-97 win that boosted its playoff hopes in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Elasto Painters pounded the Aces minus import LD Williams and hacked out a key win that resulted to the eventual elimination of the Meralco Bolts B-Boys (2-6) and the Powerade Tigers (2-6).

With San Miguel Beer also out, Rain or Shine, Alaska Milk, Barangay Ginebra, B-MEG Derby Ace and Air21 were the teams left to dispute the four slots in the quarterfinals.

The Aces moved out of contention for an outright semifinals seat with their crucial loss to the Elasto Painters. They slid to joint third with the Kings at 5-3.

Hassan Adams led all scorers with 22 points while Beau Belga came through with a double-double game with 20 points and 10 rebounds as Rain or Shine checked its four-game skid and improved its win-loss record to 4-4.

“I’m not too sure what this win means to us. But I’m sure it gives us better chance to make the next round. When we make the next round, we don’t care what place we’re in. We’ll be ready to play whoever is matched up with us,” said RoS coach Yeng Guiao.

“This is a big break for us after four losses. We needed this to boost our confidence,” Guiao added.

Gabe Norwood, Jeff Chan, Doug Kramer and Jervy Cruz also stepped up in the contest helping the Elasto Painters beat the Aces with relative ease.

“We actually expected a hard game even with Alaska playing minus its import. Our worry was that they would hang around until end game,” said Guiao. “We tried to avoid that. Their cohesion and experience would be hard to beat. So we tried to put some distance as early as we can.”

Actually, the Aces even took control at the start, beginning the contest with a 13-7 run.

The Elasto Painters, however, got their act together towards the end of the first quarter and dominated the Aces the rest of the way.

Curiously, Rain or Shine put the game away with Adams resting on the bench in the fourth quarter.

Relievers Ronjay Buenafe, Josh Vanlandingham, Kramer and Jervy Cruz did the job, enabling RoS to break away for good at 102-82.

The Elasto Painters enjoyed their biggest spread a 103-82 as Adams knocked in a free throw upon his return to the floor in the last four minutes.

The Aces had a hard time filling in the void left by Williams who average 21.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists an outing.

He served a one-game suspension incurred for a flagrant infraction on Macmac Cardona in their last game.

Minus Williams, Joe Devance and Tony dela Cruz led the Aces with 19 and 17 points, respectively. The two also combined for 20 rebounds.