RoS wrests lead; Star whips Kings

MANILA, Philippines - Rain or Shine bucked a tentative start, an avalanche of 20 turnovers and a first field basket by Manny Pacquiao as the Elasto Painters ripped the Mahindra Enforcers, 108-94, for the early solo lead in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

As in their season debut against the Star Hotshots, the E-Painters took a while to get their game going, trailing by 10 points before hitting their strides and going on to nail a second straight win.

Later in the night, the Hotshots came out strong off the starting blocks and demolished former coach Tim Cone and his new team the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 86-78.

James Yap and his teammates built an insurmountable 44-13 lead in the first half and refused to slow down, handing Jason Webb his first victory as a coach.

“To be honest, we had terrible practices Thursday and Friday, then we had a great practice (Saturday) – our best since the preseason. I don’t think we would win the game without that,” said Webb.

“I hope a victory like this doesn’t spoil us. We need better practices,” Webb also said. “We had good starts on opening day and tonight, but we have to find a way to get better as the games go on.”

Yap, PJ Simon, Marc Barroca and Marc Pingris provided the biggest lift as Webb nailed a first win following their sorry loss to Rain or Shine on opening day.

“It’s a relief, and I’m also happy for the boys. The first two games were games in a big stage. The first because it’s opening day and this one because it’s the ‘Manila Classico.’ I’m happy we got one,” said Webb.

“We still struggled in the first half just like in the Purefoods (Star) games. It’s good that we’re again able to recover in the second half,” said ROS coach Yeng Guiao on their own win.