THE growing chemistry between Rain or Shine import Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell and his local teammates netted another good result Friday.
Treadwell put up 23 points and 18 rebounds but the help he got from the other Elasto Painters proved indispensable as they racked up a second straight victory through a come-from-behind 113-101 decision over NLEX in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the PhilSports Arena.
The comebacking Keith Datu, Rey Nambatac, Andrei Caracut and even Beau Belga also chipped in during a massive fourth quarter assault by Rain or Shine that carried it home after playing catch up for most of the early goings.
Following the win that came after their breakthrough 115-110 decision over Blackwater last Saturday, the E-Painters matched their victim's 2-5 record.
Rain or Shine still needs more wins to make it among the top eight advancing to the next round, but both Treadwell and coach Yeng Guiao believe that is a doable task, what with the import continuing to blend with his teammates.
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"I feel like everybody knows a little bit more how I play so... they kinda give me the ball and I just try to capitalize... to be efficient," said Treadwell.
"We're hoping that it continues. We're hoping that we blend even better with Tree. We understand more or less how he can complement the locals' game and how the locals can complement his game," countered Guiao.
"So we should be getting better and it's good for us because we're just trying to keep ourselves in the conference, give ourselves a chance to make the next round," added Guiao.
Belga made all his five tries from the field for 14 points, Andrei Caracut scored 10 of his 12 points during the third period that helped power the E-Painters back from a 57-68 deficit and Nambatac scattered eight of his 12 points in the fourth period to fuel their drive from an 84-all standoff.
Receiving the most special citation, however, was Datu who tallied 11 points, anchored on three fourth quarter triples, and four blocks in his return to action after sitting out the last five games due to pneumonia.
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"Iba pa rin yung meron kang weapon like Keith," said Guiao of the 6-8 forward. "He's a big man who can step out, shoot 3s, can post up, help out in the rebounding, help out playing defense on the bigs. That's what we missed last four or five games.
"We were expecting him to play but for one reason or another, on game day he had something. But today that changed in a big way. We're hoping that it continues."
Stokley Chaffee also played his best game yet for NLEX with 32 points on top of eight rebounds, but he and the rest of the team were left in the wake of Rain or Shine's decisive surge that led to the latter posting as much as a 106-91 lead, 3:14 left.
Don Trollano added 21 points, Kris Rosales 13 and Matt Nieto 11 for the Road Warriors, who initially seemed well on their way to bouncing back from a sorry 94-97 loss to Meralco last Sunday when it raced to an early 28-17 lead. (NC)
The scores:
Rain or Shine 113 - Treadwell 23, Belga 14, Caracut 12, Nambatac 12, Datu 11, Santillan 9, Borboran 7, Nocum 7, Clarito 5, Mamuyac 4, Norwood 4, Asistio 3, Demusis 2.
NLEX 101 - Chaffee 32, Trollano 21, Rosales 13, Nieto 11, Herndon 9, Anthony 8, Ganuelas-Rosser 7, Rodger 0, Miranda 0, Valdez 0, Nermal 0, Semerad 0.
Quarters: 22-31, 54-60, 84-84, 113-101
