By Rey Joble

RAIN or Shine is  living up to its billing as an up-and-coming squad this season.

The Elasto Painters, sans rookie standout Sol Mercado, scored an impressive 91-83 victory over the rebuilding Barako Bull squad in the Motolite-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Playing together as a team for more than a month now, the Elasto Painters showed better cohesion against an Energy Boosters team that have gone a lot of changes, from its coaching staff to player personnel. But in this game, familiarity played a big difference for Rain or Shine.

Charles Clark III, one of the few returning imports in the league, finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Jay-R Reyes, the team?s most important player right now, had another double-double performance for the Elasto Painters.

Reyes finished with 18 points and 13 boards?an effort that drew praise from his coach.

?I guess Jay-R showed his true value for the team in tonight?s game,? said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia. ?He has been with us for a long time now and he has shown some maturity aside from providing the kind of energy this team needs.?

?There are a lot of keys to this win. One is our teamwork as we have shown familiarity with one another and another thing is the adjustment we made in practice, especially with the hand check rule. In practice, once you put your hand down, there?s a penalty to that,? he added.

Clark, who is now in tip-top shape compared to his previous stint here, had 17 first-half points. His dominance at the low block, coupled  by the Elasto Painters? tenacious defense in the second period, turned a close fight into a rout.

Rain or Shine held Barako Bull to only nine points in the second period. Those defensive stops enabled the Elasto Painters to outscore their rivals by 20 points to set the tone for a breakaway win.

In the third period, the Elasto Painters outgunned the Power Boosters by 10 more points and the lead ballooned to 22, 75-53, entering the final 12 minutes of play.

Despite the win, Garcia is far from satisfied. Not after his team shot a 56 percent clip from the foul line.

?It?s all mental,? said Garcia, referring to his team?s free-throw shooting. ?We have to spend more time taking those free throw shots and not stop until we?re making them.?