Hindi nakapalag ang Elasto Painters. They concluded Jones Cup with a 2-5 record.
University of California-Irvine put Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ winning streak to a screeching halt with a convincing 115-61 win in the 42nd William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium in Taiwan on Sunday.
UC remained atop the heap with an immaculate 8-0 win-loss record, while Rain or Shine fell to 2-5 in the invitational tourney.
Derin Saran led all UC scorers with 23 points on top of 19 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. Emilis Butkus scored 18, while Devin Tillis had 16 markers and 9 boards.
The Anteaters broke the game wide open early on, zooming to a 26-6 lead after the opening salvo with a balanced attack to which the Elasto Painters had no riposte.
Compounding the Filipinos’ cause was import Nick Evans getting the boot with still 4:56 in the opening quarter. Evans shoved Pierre Crockrell II as a retaliation after the latter apparently threw the ball near the reinforcement’s face in a dead ball.
Crockrell II walked away scot-free, and things just went downhill for the Elasto Painters since then.
Refusing to give Rain or Shine some breathing room, the Americans opened the second period with three straight triples, 35-6.
Beau Belga provided some spark for the Philippine representatives, dropping six points including a layup against the taller defenders. The rest of the Elasto Painters followed suit. For a while there, Rain or Shine was able to execute well offensively.
But there’s just no stopping UC, which scored 10 points in the first two minutes of the penultimate quarter. By the time the clock hit the five-minute mark, the count was already far from reach, 74-33.
The lead even ballooned to 102-52 inside the final five minutes of the match.
Andrei Caracut was the only Rain or Shine player in double digits, finishing with 14 points. Belga, Gian Mamuyac, and naturalized Filipino Ange Kouame combined for 26 markers for the Elasto Painters, who were coming off a win over Japan’s U22 team.
(GM)