Rain or Shine, PBA Philippine Cup’s leading fast breaking team, brought in its running shoes anew and came up with another productive showing in posting its fourth straight victory on Saturday at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Their 116-104 triumph over the Terrafirma Dyip had put the Elasto Painters at sixth spot nearing the closing stage of the elimination round as they improved to 4-4 win-loss record, the first time they’ve reached the .500 mark.
The formula to Rain or Shine’s winning streak remains the same: run and gun.
Rain or Shine surpassed its average of scoring below 107 points and reached 116 in its latest win while also finished with 25 fast break points, two points over their average.
Andrei Caracut rediscovered his old, deadly form the past few games and against the Dyip, the 5-foot-10 guard was equally efficient.
He finished with a double-double performance of 17 points and 10 assists while also pulling down five rebounds.
Beau Belga flirted with yet another triple-double showing, tallying 19 points, dishing out eight assists and grabbing seven rebounds.
So superb was the Elasto Painters’ balance production as seven players wound up in double figures.
Jhonard Clarito had 16 points and eight boards, Santi Santillan nearly had an other double-double effort as he posted numbers of 15 points and nine rebounds. Mark Borboran contributed 13, Mac Belo chipped in 11 and Gian Mamuyac contributed 10 for the Elasto Painters.
Caracut believes the Elasto Painters are now beginning to feel more comfortable and started to come together as a unit even after the departure of two-time Most Valuable Player James Yap and Rey Nambatac.
“Our defense was the reason why we lost in our first four games, plus we struggled from the free throw line,” said Caracut. “Ako mismo, nag-struggle rin so we really worked hard in our shooting and stayed aggressive on the defensive end.”
