MANILA – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters finally tasted victory in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup after taking down Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings 104-97 on Saturday night at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Terrence Watson had his best game in his return to the league with 29 points, 19 rebounds and six blocks to lead the way for the Painters, which ended their four-game skid.
Jewel Ponferrada contributed conference-best 18 markers while Maverick Ahanmisi and Gabe Norwood came up with clutch hits to finish with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the Painters.
Justin Brownlee flirted with triple-double with 23 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists, while LA Tenorio and Aljon Mariano had 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Kings, which remained on top despite the loss with a 7-2 (win-loss) card.
Ponferrada and Watson converted from the inside for the Painters to surge to a 13-2 start. The Kings rallied to take a 22-21 lead on consecutive treys by Kevin Ferrer before settling for a 28-all score with the Painters’ Anthony Washington hitting on the inside.
It was a seesaw battle for both teams early in the second period. With the Kings slightly ahead 38-37, the Painters responded with a strong run behind Ponferrada for a 51-44 halftime lead.
After Ginebra trimmed the deficit 53-54 early in the third, Rain or Shine unloaded a huge run from Watson, Ahanmisi and Beau Belga, and an Eduardo Daquioag layup for their largest lead in the game 81-62.
The Kings mounted a huge fight back in the fourth and managed to come to within 4 after a triple by Tenorio but huge baskets from Ahanmisi and Norwood sealed the win for the Painters./PN
