ALTHOUGH coach Caloy Garcia may say otherwise, the jury is still out on whether Joel Wright could take Rain or Shine deep in the PBA Governors Cup.
Wright made a case for himself Sunday evening, taking charge for the Elasto Painters in the stretch that carried them to a 96-90 victory over Columbian at the Smart Sraneta Coliseum.
Wright scored nine straight points down the stretch, not only enabling Rain or Shine to take the lead for good but also gave it enough separation from the tenacious Dyip in the tightly-fought contest.
"It's a good win for us," said Garcia following the win that bounced it back from a 94-99 loss to NorthPort last Friday.
"We were disappointed with the way we played the last game, so I told the players that the only way we can come back is to win today's game," added Garcia.
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"So at least hindi kami lumayo sa standings. We know that every game is very important... so you just have to come out and play hard every game."
Wright led the E-Painters who did, finishing with 30 points on top of 10 rebounds. Rey Nambatac led those who provided chief support with 17 points while Ping exciminiano and Javee Mocon added 10 markers apiece.
Rain or Shine also did its part on defense, holding Columbian import Khapri Alston to just 23 points and 15 rebounds, 15 and seven below his league debut in a 117-110 win over Alaska also last Friday.
CJ Perez chipped in 22 points and 10 boards for his second straight double-double and Glen Khobuntin 14 points for the Dyip.
Derspite Wright's splendid showing at crunchtime, Garcia said there's still something to be desired from his import's game after getting saddled with early fouls like in the NorthPort game.
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"He has to learn how to preserve his fouls. It's been two games he's been fouling. He has to learn how to control his emotions," offered Garcia.
"He's a good import... but we need him to play longer minutes. We actually played good when he wasn't on the court. but mahirap talagang maglaro kung wala kang import."
Especially in a game that was tight for practically throughout, featuring as it did a total 10 deadlocks and 13 lead changes with neither team leading by more than nine points.
When it came to the crunch, however, Wright stood out and in a variety of strong moves to the basket, much like what Alston did in the Alaska game.
His drive knotted the count for the last time at 89 and he followed that up with another hard move to the basket to put the E-Painters ahead.
When the over-eager Perez lost the ball in the Dyip's next possession, Wright again defied the defense before practically sealing the deal with a charity that made it 94-90, only eight seconds to play. (NC)
The scores:
Rain or Shine 96 - Wright 30, Nambatac 17, Exciminiano 10, Mocon 10, Borboran 9, Daquioag 8, Torres 7, Norwood 2, Rosales 2, Ponferada 1, Yap 0, Belga 0, Onwubere 0.
Columbian 90 - Alston 23, Perez 22, Khobuntin 14, Tiongson 10, McCarthy 9, Cahilig 5, Camson 3, Flores 2, Calvo 2, Faundo 0, Reyes 0, Celda 0, Gabriel 0, Gabayni 0.
Quarterscores: 23-14, 44-44, 66-63, 96-90
