By REYNALD MAGALLON
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Rain or Shine went on a tear in the second half and erased an early 21-point deficit to clobber Japan U22 team, 116-91 in the 2023 William Jones Cup at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium here on Saturday, Aug. 19.
The Elasto Painters recovered from a slow start that saw them trail 42-21 in the opening period before finally seizing control of the contest with a blistering 25-2 rally bridging the third and final frames.
At the forefront of the huge second half onslaught was Santi Santillan who finished with 20 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the field.
Plenty of players also stepped up for Rain or Shine which breached the century mark for the first time in the competition to pick up its second win against five losses.
Ange Kouame and Gian Mamuyac led six other players in double-figures with 18 apiece while Nick Evans also had 17 points.
Andrei Caracut orchestrated the attack with 12 points and nine assists while Anton Asistio added 11.
Rain or Shine also clamped down on the defensive end as after Anthony Sukegawa scored 17 points in the first half, was only limited to just five the rest of the way. Hiyuu Ozawa also added 19 points for Japan.
The Filipinos pulled away from a 76-all deadlock late in the third frame with Kouame and Santillan throwing their weight around for 9-0 finishing kick in the quarter.
Rain or Shine never looked back from there, limiting the Japanese to just two points in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter to take a commanding 103-78 lead.
Rain or Shine tries to close out the tournament on a high note when it takes the dangerous UC Irvine on Sunday, Aug. 20.
