Action between Rain or Shine and Meralco in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup, April 27, 2025 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. PBA Images

MANILA -- Rain or Shine compounded the problems of defending all-Filipino champion Meralco, taking a 128-116 victory on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

A big third quarter got the job done for the Elasto Painters, who turned a relatively slim 66-59 advantage into a huge 102-82 cushion after torching the Bolts for 36 points in the pivotal period.

Six players scored in double-digits for Rain or Shine, led by Santi Santillan with 27 points and Gian Mamuyac and Adrian Nocum,who each had 24 points. The Elasto Painters shot 50% from the field in the game.

"We just tried to play to our strong suit, which is playing with a lot of pace. We wanted to get out and just attack, attack and keep attacking the defense of Meralco," said ROS coach Yeng Guiao after the game.

"Alam namin maliliit kami so ang talagang advantage lang namin is our quickness and our speed," added Guiao. "We had practically zero bigs so the only way we can win the game is to keep playing fast, which is what we always do anyway. So nag-rely lang kami doon sa speed namin."

This was the third straight loss for Meralco in the Philippine Cup after opening the conference with back-to-back wins. 

Bong Quinto had 23 points and CJ Cansino and Raymar Jose each had 21 for the Bolts, but they could not keep their team from dropping to 2-3.

The Elasto Painters kept Chris Newsome in check, as the swingman managed just three points on 1-of-6 shooting in 27 minutes, though he did contribute seven assists and four boards.

Rain or Shine is now at 2-1 in the conference.  

The Scores :

RAIN OR SHINE 128 - Santillan 27, Mamuyac 24, Nocum 24, Lemetti 13, Norwood 12, Clarito 10, Malonzo 9, Caracut 7, Borboran 2, Asistio 0.

MERALCO 116 - Quinto 23, Jose 21, Cansino 21, Banchero 14, Hodge 8, Caram 7, Bates 6, Black 5, Rios 4, Newsome 3, Reyson 2, Almaazan 2, Pascual 0.

QUARTERS: 29-28, 66-59, 102-82, 128-116