MANILA – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters ended its two-day stint in the Bahrain-Philippines Goodwill Basketball Games winless after another close defeat on Saturday at the Zain Basketball Arena in Bahrain.
The Painters failed to hang on to its early advantage to suffer a 63-67 defeat at the hands of Bahrain’s Muharraq Club, which is led by former Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player CJ Giles.
The Painters struggled with their shots early as Muharraq Club opened the game with a 14-1 score but managed to bounce back in the second frame behind Eduardo Daquioag and Raymond Almazan to seize a 35-29 halftime lead.
Muharraq Club, however, had a strong run in the third quarter to regain the advantage at 51-49 before keeping the Painters at bay in the fourth with timely conversions from Ahmed Hassan Aldurazi.
Aldurazi led the way with 22 points, while Lester Ferguson and former De La Salle University Green Archers guard Bader Malabes added 15 and 14 markers, respectively, for Muharraq.
Daquioag top-scored with 16 points, while Almazan added 13 markers for the Painters. Negrense James Yap and Beau Belga struggled anew with seven and six points, respectively.
Painters head coach Carlos Garcia said that the two-day exhibition is a huge help to his squads preparation for the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup, which will open on Sunday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
“This game was a good opportunity for us as we prepare for the new PBA season,” Garcia said. “Aside from the team’s build up, our main goal here is to give the Filipino fans and basketball fans a good show.”/PN
