Elasto Painters avenge semifinal loss, down Gin Kings

Rain or Shine extended its winning streak to two games after defeating Barangay Ginebra, 108-99, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors' Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

The Elasto Painters followed up their breakthrough victory over Phoenix by defeating the same Ginebra squad that eliminated them in the Commissioner's Cup semifinals earlier this year.

Rain or Shine took control from the opening half before pulling away with a dominant third quarter. The Elasto Painters erupted for 36 points in the period to turn a narrow lead into an 89-73 advantage entering the fourth.

The lead grew to as many as 18 points before Ginebra mounted a late rally, but Rain or Shine remained in control to improve to 2-2 after opening the conference with back-to-back losses.

Head coach Yeng Guiao believed the scheduling favored his team.

"We caught Ginebra at a time when they were tired coming from their Friday game," Guiao said.

He also pointed to the Gin Kings' shooting regression after their dominant performance against Blackwater.

"They shot the ball very well on Friday. I was hoping the law of averages would catch up with them and that their shooting percentage would go down," he added.

Import Aaron Fuller led Rain or Shine with 37 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists.

Caelan Tiongson earned Player of the Game honors after scoring 21 points, highlighted by five three-pointers. He scored nine points during the decisive third-quarter run and added five rebounds.

"We started the conference 0-2, so coming into this game we were just focused on getting the win," Tiongson said. "We have a great import who draws a lot of defensive attention, and that opened up spaces for us."

Adrian Nocum posted 13 points and a career-high 10 assists, while Jhonard Clarito contributed 13 points and seven rebounds.

Riley Grigsby paced Ginebra with 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. RJ Abarrientos and Troy Rosario each scored 13 points, Jeremiah Gray added 11, while Stephen Holt and Japeth Aguilar chipped in 10 apiece as the Gin Kings fell to 1-2 in Group B.

Both teams return to action Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena, with Rain or Shine taking on Magnolia at 5:15 p.m. before Ginebra faces Meralco at 7:30 p.m.