Rain or Shine’s Santi Santillan makes a move against Magnolia’s Ian Sangalang during their game in the PBA Philippine Cup in Montalban, Rizal.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—With its slew of versatile bigs back, Rain or Shine flaunted its depth led by Santi Santillan in a big win over league-leading Magnolia in the PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night.
Santillan had an efficient and all-around effort recording 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in less than 25 minutes of action.
READ: PBA: Rain or Shine halts Magnolia’s unbeaten run
“I put in extra work even before our practice starts,” said Santillan after the Elasto Painters’ 119-105 victory that snapped the Hotshots’ 6-0 start in the conference.
“I work on my shooting as well because in practice, the intensity is always there. We need to get used to it.”
Santillan shot 7-of-12 from the field but said what helped his team more was his contributions on the other end of the floor and rebounding.
“I need to be healthy because I need to step up. Even without Beau (Belga) or Keith (Datu), I need to be aggressive in defense and rebounds. It’s a big thing for us in the team to have that rebounder.”
READ: PBA: With players back, Rain or Shine kicks off running game
The former La Salle standout was one of 10 Rain or Shine players who scored at least seven points. Adrian Nocum paced the Painters’ balanced offense with a game-high 20 points.
Jhonard Clarito had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench while Felix Lemetti tallied 11 points and five assists. Datu, coming off a 27-point, eight-rebound performance the previous win over Blackwater, added 10 points and five rebounds.
Bigs Caelan Tiongson and Beau Belga, who recently returned from injuries, chipped in eight and seven points, respectively.
The Painters (4-2) shoot for a third straight win on Wednesday against Grand Slam-seeking TNT Tropang 5G at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
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