[caption id="attachment_101136" align="alignleft" width="208"] Mac Belo of Blackwater fires a jumper off Phoenix's Prince Caperal in their PBA Philippine Cup game at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.[/caption]By Jay R. Gotera MANILA — Despite the loss of two key players and their head coach in the off-season, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters showed they remain a powerhouse club, drubbing the TNT KaTropa Texters, 101-87, in the PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night. Jericho Cruz led the Painters with 18 points as he led six players in double digits. Gabe Norwood added 13 points and five boards, while Raymond Almazan posted 13 markers and 12 boards. Rookie Mike Tolomia and sophomore Mav Ahanmisi chipped in 11 and 10 markers, respectively. ROS played its first game without head coach Yeng Guiao who moved to the NLEX Road Warriors. Former assistant head coach Caloy Garcia took over Guiao's post. Aside from Guiao, the Painters lost Paul Lee who was traded to Star Hotshots for James Yap. They also lost JR Quinahan in a trade with GlobalPort Batang Pier for Jay Washington, who scored 9 points Wednesday. Yap did not play for ROS as he is still recuperating from knee surgery. Jayson Castro did not play for TNT after he requested management for some more time to recover from fatigue due to extended play in the last season. Ranidel de Ocampo led the Texters with 24 points and 10 boards while Troy Rosario added 16 markers and eight rebounds in a losing effort. Blackwater 94, Phoenix 87 Perennial last-place finisher Blackwater Elite began their PBA Philippine Cup campaign with a smashing victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 94-87. It was the first win in an opening game in the team's three-year history in the league. Special draft top pick and Gilas' leading scorer Mac Belo made a smashing debut in the PBA, showing no signs of rookie jitters as he top-scored for Blackwater with 17 points on an impressive 7 of 9 attempts from the field for an impressive 87 percent shooting clip. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out two assists. Sophomore forward Art dela Cruz also sparkled for the Elite, posting 12 points, 10 boards, and four assists. Denok Miranda added 11 markers. The win spoiled the nearly one-man show of Phoenix's Simon Enciso who posted a career-high 25 points, including seven three-pointers. With the score tied at 73-all early in the fourth quarter, the Elite ignited an 11-2 run to grab an 84-75 lead with 6:41 remaining. Enciso and JC Intal combined for five points for Phoenix, but Belo drained a crucial jumper to cut short the Fuel Masters' uprising. Intal scored 12 points, while rookie Gelo Alolino had 11 markers. Willy Wilson had a double-double 10 points and 14 rebounds for Phoenix. The Fuel Masters' top rookie Matthew Wright was not able to play due to stomach flu. Games Friday: Mahindra Flood Buster vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier and Alaska Aces vs. NLEX Road Warriors.
