MANILA – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters moved to a share of the top spot in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup after drubbing Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings 108-89 last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Raymond Almazan led with 20 points for Painters to tie with TNT KaTropa on top (2-0). Eduardo Daquiaog added 17 while import Reginald Johnson had double-double 16 points and 15 rebounds.
In the first game, Alaska Aces nearly squandered a lead as high as 30 points but was able to regain its form in the fourth quarter for a 93-74 victory over the slumping Blackwater Elite.
Painters had a strong start behind Almazan, Daquioag and Gabe Norwood for a 27-16 lead, which grew further 49-31 late in the second quarter with triples from Maverick Ahanmisi and James Yap.
Kings rallied to within 51-60 early in the third period on hits by Charles Garcia but Painters quickly answered with its own rally behind Daquioag, Beau Belga and Ahanmisi to raise the lead 75-62.
Ginebra had its last push in the fourth, trimming the deficit to 8, but Painters went for a finishing run on baskets from Yap, Almazan and Chris Tiu for its largest lead 103-82.
Japeth Aguilar finished with double-double 28 points and 12 rebounds, while import Garcia had an unimpressive showing of 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting for Kings (0-1).
Aces went on a fiery start in the curtain raiser behind Anthony Campbell and Vic Manuel for a 27-11 first-quarter score. The gap went to its widest 49-19 on a layup by Kevin Racal.
Elite made its move in the second half and managed to come to as close as 54-62 in the third before Aces pulled away anew in the fourth on hits by Campbell and Manuel.
Manuel top-scored with 27 points while Campbell chipped in with double-double 23 points and 19 rebounds for Aces (1-1). Calvin Abueva struggled offensively with just 3 points but contributed 10 rebounds and six assists./PN
