BUZZER BEATER

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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Wednesday, December 6, 2017
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Painters groping for form

RAIN or Shine Elasto Painters head coach Carlos Garcia is still not satisfied with the performance of his team despite their 95-91 overtime win over Phoenix Fuel Masters in the PBA preseason match on Monday at the Upper Deck Gym.

While they scored a come-from-behind win without their veteran players, Garcia said there are still more things to fix for Painters to regain its contender status in the upcoming Philippine Cup.

Painters suited up against Fuel Masters minus injured veterans James Yap, Jericho Cruz, Anthony Washington, and Jireh Ibañes. The team also rested Gilas Pilipinas players Gabe Norwood and Raymond Almazan.

“It’s only a pocket tournament, but the reason we joined this is for us to learn and know what we have to improve before the season,” said Garcia, who took over the spot of Yeng Guiao.

Fuel Masters went on a strong 17-4 start in the game on shots by Jeffrei Chan and William Wilson but Painters responded with conversions from Chris Tiu and Dexter Maiquez to make it a close game.

The match turned into a seesaw battle with both teams having a taste of the lead. Painters were up by a single point at 83-82 when Fuel Masters’ LA Revilla forced overtime with a split free throw.

Both teams exchanged leads in the overtime, with Fuel Masters clinging to a 89-88 lead on Joseph Eriobu basket before Painters countered with a triple from Tiu and free throws by Maverick Ahanmisi and Eduardo Daquioag to snatch the win.

Maiquez and Tiu had 20 points apiece, Daquioag had 14 markers, while Beau Belga and Ahanmisi had 12 points each for Painters. Rookie Rey Nambatac struggled with just 2 points on 0-of-4 shooting.

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NLEX Road Warriors, meanwhile, showed it will be a force to reckon with in the upcoming season with its 106-100 victory over Alaska Aces to open its preseason campaign.

With guards struggling to find their shooting touch, Guiao’s big men carried the load for Road Warriors to erase a deficit as high as 10 points in the second half and snatch the win.

Rabeh Al-Hussaini rediscovered his old form with 21 points, including a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from the outside, while Negrense Raul Soyud also improved his game to finish with 18 points.

Also providing excellent numbers were other bigs Asi Taulava and Alfonso Gotladera, who was expected to get much playing time this season after spending most part of his rookie season in the reserve list.

“The team is improving but we’re not only looking to just improve,” Guiao said. “We’re looking to contend with the big boys so we are still trying to improve our game as the season opener draws closer.”

Meanwhile, former collegiate rivals Kiefer Ravena and Jeron Teng had not-so-impressive showings in their first encounter as players for Road Warriors and Aces, respectively.

The Ilonggo Ravena finished with just 9 points, on a measly 4-of-10 field goal shooting, to go along with five assists, two rebounds, one block, and two turnovers in 17 minutes of play.

Teng, on the other hand, struggled with 4 points, on 2-of-11 field goal shooting, three assists, two rebounds, and one turnover in 28 minutes of action./PN

 
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