Leonard Santillan leads fiery ROS shooting in rout of Blackwater
Published Jul 23, 2023 12:06 pm
Leonard Santillan continued to flourish for Rain or Shine in the PBA on Tour.
The 6-foot-5 forward led the Elasto Painters' shooting display in their dominant 131-108 win over Blackwater Bossing at the FilOil-EcoOil Arena in San Juan on Sunday, July 23.
The Elasto Painters welcomed the return of head coach Yeng Guiao following a brief vacation with a win that improved their record to 8-2, further solidifying their spot as the second best team in the pre-season exhibition tiff. Santillan, who is being played at the wing position instead on his natural power forward spot during the 'On Tour', seemed to be finally getting the hang of it after dropping 14 of his 24 points in the huge third quarter storm that broke the game wide open for Rain or Shine. He led the ROS’ hot-shooting from deep, drilling four triples while Jewel Ponferrada and Andrei Caracut nailed three and two treys, respectively. Caracut finished with 18 points while Gian Mamuyac added 17. Shaun Ildefonso also had his share in the rout with 12 points while veteran big man Beau Belga orchestrated the attack with an all-around effort of eight points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. As a team, Rain or Shine buried a total of 15 triples with six of which coming in succession during a blistering stretch in the third frame. With Blackwater hanging around and down by just 10 points, 59-69, Ildefonso triggered the three-point barrage from the Elasto Painters followed up by two more connections from deep from Ponferrada and Santillan. Blackwater had some answers but its sporadic offense was not enough to stop the bleeding as Ponferrada and Santillan drained three more triples to establish a commanding 19-point lead Rain or Shine never relinquished until the final buzzer. RK Ilagan led the way for Blackwater with 18 points while Mike DiGregorio and Troy Rosario added 17 and 15, respectively – all of which went down the drain after sliding to a 6-4 record in the standings.
*Rain or Shine's Leonard Santillan leads Rain or Shine's shooting display against Blackwater. (PBA Images)
*The Elasto Painters welcomed the return of head coach Yeng Guiao following a brief vacation with a win that improved their record to 8-2, further solidifying their spot as the second best team in the pre-season exhibition tiff. Santillan, who is being played at the wing position instead on his natural power forward spot during the 'On Tour', seemed to be finally getting the hang of it after dropping 14 of his 24 points in the huge third quarter storm that broke the game wide open for Rain or Shine. He led the ROS’ hot-shooting from deep, drilling four triples while Jewel Ponferrada and Andrei Caracut nailed three and two treys, respectively. Caracut finished with 18 points while Gian Mamuyac added 17. Shaun Ildefonso also had his share in the rout with 12 points while veteran big man Beau Belga orchestrated the attack with an all-around effort of eight points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. As a team, Rain or Shine buried a total of 15 triples with six of which coming in succession during a blistering stretch in the third frame. With Blackwater hanging around and down by just 10 points, 59-69, Ildefonso triggered the three-point barrage from the Elasto Painters followed up by two more connections from deep from Ponferrada and Santillan. Blackwater had some answers but its sporadic offense was not enough to stop the bleeding as Ponferrada and Santillan drained three more triples to establish a commanding 19-point lead Rain or Shine never relinquished until the final buzzer. RK Ilagan led the way for Blackwater with 18 points while Mike DiGregorio and Troy Rosario added 17 and 15, respectively – all of which went down the drain after sliding to a 6-4 record in the standings.