Rain or Shine endured its most lopsided defeat in the W. Jones Cup on Sunday against NCAA Division 1 team UC Irvine, who handed them a crushing 115-61 loss at the Taipei Heping Gymnasium.
Rain or Shine had a flat start, converting only one of their first 20 attempts, 10 of which came from beyond the arc.
Making things worse for the Elasto Painters was the ejection of import Nick Evans midway through the first period.
The Americans took advantage, building a 26-6 gap in the opening period. They conveniently quashed every comeback attempt by Rain or Shine.
Andrei Caracut paced the Elasto Painters with 14 points. The team ended its campaign with a 2-6 record and failed to defend the Philippines’ hold on the Jones Cup title.
Derin Saran led the USA with 23 points, while forwards Emilis Butkus and Devin Tellis contributed 18 and 16, respectively.
League-leading UC Irvine, on the other hand, formalized its grab on the tournament crown by winning eight straight games.
