May 26, 2023

E-Painters off to a flying start, rout Road Warriors

RAIN or Shine unleashed a strong finishing kick to romp past NLEX, 117-93, and get a victorious start in the PBA On Tour Friday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Jewel Ponferada, Rey Nambatac and Anton Asistio hit the big shots fueling a telling 42-19 fourth-quarter exchange that enabled the Elasto Painters to pull away to the opening victory.

Ponferada got the breakaway going with a seven-point cluster that led to an 89-80 ROS lead.

Nambatac and Asistio then picked it up and fired 14 points apiece in the payoff period to take the game beyond the reach of the undermanned Road Warriors, who fell to back-to-back losses in the pre-season meet presented by Arena Plus and sponsored by Bingo Plus.

Asistio and Nambatac shared scoring honors with 22 points each with the former highlighting his explosive outing with a 5-of-7 three-point clip.

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Ponfereda finished with 10 as Shaun Ildefonso, Jhonard Clarito and Leonard Santillan chipped in nine apiece for the Yeng Guiao-coached ROS.

"We're really taking this pre-season seriously. We didn't make the playoffs last conference so this is like a fresh start for us," said Asistio, who delivered his heroics off the bench.

"We wanna build good habits, both offensively and defensively, and carry this into the next season," he added.

Bong Galanza shot 22 to pace a Road Warriors team that played without key players Kevin Alas, Brandon Rosser and Tony Semerad and failed to bounce back from its 88-93 loss to Blackwater last Sunday. (OL)

The Scores:

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Rain or Shine 117 -Nambatac 22, Asistio 22, Ponferada 10, Clarito 9, Ildefonso 9, Santillan 9, Borboran 8, Mamuyac 7, Belga 7, Caracut 5, Demusis 5, Norwood 4.

NLEX 93 - Galanza 22, Rosales 16, Fajardo 15, Doliguez 11, Trollano 8, Miranda 6, Pascual 6, Gabo 4, Celda 4, Rangel 1.

Quarterscores: 22-24, 48-51, 75-74, 117-93.