COLUMBIAN finally found a way to win and it came after Akeem Wright found his touch from deep.
Akeem Wright laced his game-high 23 points with three triples in the fourth quarter that sparked the Dyip's 100-84 victory over usual victim Rain or Shine Friday in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares center in Antipolo.
Those triples by Wright, who came into the game averaging just 28 percent from beyond the arc, helped give him 15 for the period as he led Columbian to the breakaway from an erstwhile tight game.
With Jerramy King, Ronald Tubid and Rashawn McCarthy joining in, the Dyip outscored the Elasto Painters 32-21 in the final canto and on to their first win in 10 games.
The win actually snapped Columbian's 23-game losing skid in the season-ending tourney since 2016 and also arrested its 11-game slide since the mid-season Commissioner's Cup.
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"Pagpasok ko dito, hindi ako sanay," said Johnedel Cardel, named to handle the Dyip just before the conference started. "Nakatanggal ng tinik sa dibdib. Hindi na ako sanay manalo."
It took total team effort as King wound up with 18 points, Ronald Tubid and McCarthy 16 apiece and Andreas Cahilig 13.
The Dyip also had a conference-high 11 steals while harassing the E-Painters into committing 18 miscues that resulted in the latter's plus-13 advantage in turnover points.
Despite the win, Columbian stayed in the cellar but did sweep all its three games against the Asian Coatings franchise this season.
Heavier is the toll on Rain or Shine as it saw its two-game run snapped. After dropping to a 2-5 slate it now needs to win almost all its remaining four games to gain inclusion among the top eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals.
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Terrence Watson notched 18 points and 10 rebounds while Maverick Ahanmisi and Gabe Norwood had at least 11 apiece for the E-Painters, who saw their chances start to dim as early as the first half when Beau Belga suffered a foot injury.
Even Jewel Ponferrada had to sit it out for a long stretch in the second half after rolling his right ankle. He did return in the final 5:07, but by then momentum was fully on Columbian's side.
Already having to make do without the sulking Raymond Almazan Rain or Shine grittily fought on, overcoming an early 14-point deficit to even lead by 61-57 late in the third period.
But after Jay Washington's putback pegged the game's second and last deadlock at 63, Columbian turned on the heat once more.
McCarthy's basket and Reden Celda's corner triple ended the third quarter, but the Dyip continued to roll with a 15-2 binge to start the fourth as the E-Painters missed their first six tries from the field in the period.
Wright had two triples in that surge and added another before King scored on a layup off his own steal and boomed in a triple of his own to give Columbian its biggest lead at 91-70. (NC)
The scores:
Columbian 100 - Wright 23, King 18, McCarthy 16, Tubid 16, Cahilig 13, Reyes 5, Corpuz 4, Celda 3, Ababou 2, Khobuntin 0, Escoto 0.
Rain or Shine 84 - Watson 18, Ahanmisi 16, Norwood 11, Ponferada 9, Yap 8, Belga 7, Washington 6, Borboran 5, Daquioag 4, Nambatac 0, Tiu 0.
Quarters: 24-21, 50-39, 68-63, 100-84.
