Rey Nambatac and rookie Gian Mamuyac provided the needed 1-2 punch for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters as they repulsed the Blackwater Elite Bossing, 107-90, Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup 2022 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Nambatac and Mamuyac gave their best outputs for the conference, producing 26 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Painters to their second straight triumph following six straight setbacks. The Painters, now at solo ninth with a 3-6 slate, kept their hopes alive for a seat in the quarterfinals.
“He is just enjoying himself. And it trickled down to his teammates,” said ROS coach Chris Gavina of Mamuyac’s game with Nambatac.
The duo combined for a pivotal 12-5 run the third period. Their efforts boosted the Elasto Painters’ bid to overcome a 41-45 deficit, and move away at 59-51, with 6:49 to go off Nambatac’s three-point play.
ROS enjoyed its biggest advantage through Andrei Caracut’s split charity in the final 34 ticks, 106-86.
Brandon Rosser-Ganuelas shot a conference-high 19 points for the Bossings, who now have a 5-3 card in third spot.
Blackwater still has hopes of finishing the 11-game eliminations in the top two and clinching a first-ever twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. And they can boost their bid if they win their game on Friday against the NLEX Road Warriors.
Beau Belga struck with 12 points for the Elasto Painters, who will be shooting for a third straight win when they take on the Terrafirma Dyip on Saturday.