ROS dominates Blackwater off Fuller’s double-double performance
Aaron Fuller scored 24 points and grabbed 19 rebounds with +22 efficiency in his return to the PBA to lead the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters dominant win against the Blackwater Bossing, 110-97 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum on Tuesday, August 19.
Fuller made his presence felt early in the game by muscling his way inside the paint and consistently did it until the final minutes of the game.
The “balik-import” received enough help from the local crew especially by the debuting rookies that ROS picked in the first round of the recent draft.
Caelan Tiongson chipped in 15 markers (11 from the 2nd quarter), grabbed five rebounds and two assists in his very first PBA game while fellow rookie Felix Lemetti added 11 markers on 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point arc including three boards and two assists.
Leonard Santillan also helped in the Elasto Painters by scoring 12 points while Andrei Caracut dished off the game-high seven assists.
On the other hand, the No. 2 pick overall Sedrick Barefield made an impact right away and paced the Blackwater Bossing by putting up 18 points. He even made his first three attempts when he was inserted in the game in the first period.
Sophomore James Kwekuteye added 17 markers (5-of-6 from the rainbow country) to help the Bossing climb up from the 21-point lead erected by ROS and brought it down to 10. He also tallied four boards and two dish-offs.
Bradwyn Guinto, who made the first six points of the Bossing managed to finish the game with 15 points while the struggling Troy Rosario scored 10.
Another one who struggled from the game was Blackwater’s import Ricky Ledo who only scored 12 points off 4-of-23 shooting from the field. His first field goal only arrived in the early part of the third quarter.
The two teams will battle again on September 23 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The scores:
Rain or Shine 110 – Fuller 24, Tiongson 15, Santillan 12, Lemetti 11, Mamuyac 10, Asistio 9, Nocum 8, Clarito 8, Ildefonso 4, Villegas 4, Datu 3, Belga 2, Caracut 0, Norwood 0.
Blackwater 97 – Barefield 18, Kwekuteye 17, Guinto 15, Ledo 12, Rosario 10, David 7, Chua 6, Casio 5, Tungcab 3, Suerte 2, Jopia 2, Montalbo 0, Ponferrada 0, Hill 0, Mitchell 0.
Quarters: 30-26; 59-50; 83-62; 110-97.
Similar news
Jayson Castro scored 16 points and made an immediate impact in his first game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.
TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.
Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.
Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.
The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.
With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.
The game was the last of the year for both teams.
TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.
Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.
"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.
"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.
Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11.
The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.
PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.
San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.
After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.
However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team.
Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.
The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.
The Scores:
Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0.
Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62.