RoS Finally Grabs 1st Win

The RoS Elasto Painters earned their 1st win in this conference in grand fashion as they defeated the previously unbeaten Alaska Aces. The Painters were off to a good start as they led as much as 14 in the 1st half before the Aces mounted a comeback in the 3rd quarter. Things didn’t look good for the Painters as they not only allowed the Aces to comeback in the game but also allowed them to establish an 11 point lead in the 3rd quarter. The Painters were coughing up TOs and missing their foul shots. It took more than 11 minutes for a Elasto Painter other than Ryan Araña to score in the 3rd quarter. I didn’t expect but RoS to recover after the meltdown in the 3rd but they did. The bench of the Aces was not able to maintain the lead and allowed the Painters to complete a fantastic play after another. In the end, the Painters just made plays when the Aces couldn’t.

Don Dulay led the way for RoS as he finished with 20 points in the game. The Aces could not stop this guy and it proved costly for them as he almost single-handedly carried the Painters to a W. LA Tenorio was held scoreless in the 2nd half. He was barely a factor in the 2nd half after exploding for 13 points in the 2nd half. Willie Miller was also not able to take over late in the game. The Aces went away from him most of the time in the 2nd half and that might have affected his rhythm. I did not see any aggressiveness from him at all in the 2nd half.

RoS desperately needs a go-to-guy in the perimeter to win. Don Dulay was that guy for them in this game but we can’t expect him to be this hot in every game. It was Sol Mercado last year but he has been off to a terrible start averaging 7.5 ppg and shooting a 29.6% from the field. I don’t think Gabe Norwood can be that guy for them. He might have the tools to be one of the best players in the PBA but I don’t think we will ever see a Norwood as aggressive as Mark Caguioa. It also doesn’t help them every damn big man they have is almost a clone of Yancy De Ocampo. I was never a fan of the Mark Telan acquisition and having a lot of players who play alike. They’ve already got a lot of players like him in Mike Hrabak and Jay-R Reyes. Norwood could surely use an athletic guy big man that he can dump the ball to.