The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters is scheduled for a head-to-head game against the NLEX Road Warriors at 10 AM on November 4, 2020 live from the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Angeles City, Pampanga.
Beau Belga came out firing in Rain or Shine’s recent 85-82 overtime win over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. Proving all of his haters wrong, the Elasto Painters veteran outdoes himself and scored 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
With the Elasto Painters down by two, Belga accounted for his team’s seven straight points, including a go-ahead inside the basket and a 3-pointer for an 83-78 cushion with 1:34 remaining.
Borboran added 16 points and five rebounds while also being a valuable piece on the defensive end late when he drew a key offensive foul on Japeth Aguilar and a crucial steal in the extra session. With 1.4 seconds left on the clock, Rey Nambatac’s trey followed by a deflection by Gabe Norwood on Stanley Pringle’s inbound pass paved the way for OT with the score tied at 76 at the end of regulation.
James Yap and Javee Mocon also tallied double-digit scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively for the Painters, improved to 4-1, win-loss record, just above Barangay Ginebra.
ROS coach Caloy Garcia refused to get carried away by their fine showing so far in the all-Filipino bubble.
“It’s very hard. Anything can happen here. We can easily be 1-4. All our games are close, so that tells a lot about our players’ character. Every game we have to prepare wisely kasi hindi katulad sa Manila na mahaba ang time mo to prepare,” Garcia said.
Meanwhile, NLEX is coming in this match from a morale-boosting win over the league-leader TNT.
Kevin Alas and Jericho Cruz came up big in the second half as the Road Warriors caught a big fish in the Tropang Giga, who lost for the first time after starting the conference with five straight victories.
Alas scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, shaking off an injury scare when he collided with Jayson Castro before the end of the second quarter. Former TNT cager Cruz also made a huge impact in the win, finishing with 19 points while burying key baskets in the fourth period.
“We played better defense than our previous games, and it looks like we’re in better shape than we were a week ago. I hope it’s not too late, but we’ll try to get better every day,” coach Yeng Guiao said.