Pressured Painters vent ire on Energy, 99-76

MANILA, Philippines – With a stern warning from their coach after a blowout loss, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters came back strong and walloped the Barako Bull Energy, 99-71, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

The Elasto Painters dealt the Energy a severe beating right in the opening quarter and sustained a dominant performance to the very end in a big turnaround from a 76-99 defeat at the hands of the Talk n Text Tropang Texters Sunday.

“Basically, the guys responded to the challenge of our coach,” said Rain or Shine assistant coach Caloy Garcia, calling the shots for the team in the absence of bench chieftain Yeng Guiao.

“After the loss to Talk n Text, we reviewed the tape and we saw that we had no effort at all. Coach Yeng addressed that, telling the guys that if they don’t play, we’ll move with trades,” Garcia pointed out. “That opened the eyes of the guys, making them realize that we really can’t relax.”

Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer, its three-game streak halted by Alaska Milk Wednesday, tries to get back on track as it tangles with NLEX in a Petron Blaze PBA on Tour matchup at the Mindanao Civic Center in Tubod, Lanao del Norte at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The E-Painters hardly relaxed, pushing hard through 48 minutes as they again went above .500 with a third win against two losses.

Jeff Chan drained four treys and finished with a double-double game with 23 points and 10 rebounds, leading Rain or Shine in another carnage of Barako Bull.

Dating back to 2012, the Elasto Painters have beaten the Energy 10 times in their last 11 games.

Barako Bull remained winless under coach Coy Banal, suffering a fourth straight loss in the all-Filipino tourney.

Looking completely focused on the game, the E-Painters pummeled the Energy from the opening tip and never let up as in their 117-88 massacre of the Kia Sorento on Oct. 29.

Rain or Shine ripped the game wide open right at the start as the E-Painters held the Energy to only two points in the first six minutes of play and to seven in the first quarter.

The E-Painters sustained the effort throughout even with a depleted rotation minus the injury-hit Chris Tiu, Ryan Arana and Jireh Ibanes.

Jervy Cruz also came through with a double-double job with 11 points and 10 rebounds while TY Tang added 12 points and the rest had their contributions.

“We totally had a different outlook coming from that loss to Talk n Text,” said Garcia. “We came out strong and it’s more of effort in response to coach Yeng’s challenge.”

The E-Painters clobbered the Energy on all fronts, leading by as many as 32 points, 99-67, before completing the rout.