Gabe Norwood makes up for Rain or Shine’s shortage of bigs Sunday night.
With Rain or Shine’s big men sidelined because of injury, veteran Gabe Norwood had to step in and fill the void.
The 40-year-old veteran did a spectacular job as Rain or Shine shut down Meralco, 128-116, in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Antipolo Sunday, April 27.
Norwood tried to make up for the loss of Caelan Tiongson (back spasms), Keith Datu (calf) and Beau Belga (vertigo), coming up with 12 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal in the process.
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Norwood saw action for nearly 38 minutes of action and later pointed out its proximity to his age during the post-game presser.
“Man. Thirty-eight (minutes). That's closer to my age,” said Norwood after his team improved to 2-1.
“But it's just a blessing to still be able to get out there on the court and play the game that I love, and to have my family and my kids in the crowd to see me play well.”
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Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao was pleased, but not surprised, that Norwood — who is playing pretty much an assistant coach's role for a while now — can still make a difference.
“We had to use Gabe for 38 minutes today because of the necessity. We usually do not do that to Gabe. He's going to age faster if we do that,” Guiao said of his starter.
“But sometimes, it's necessary. Sometimes the situation calls for it. And he's ready. I guess it's just whatever role or whatever the situation calls for. That's why we call him our Swiss Army knife: he's able to give you whatever you need in a certain situation.”
While Norwood took care mostly of the intangibles, Santi Santillan, Gian Mamuyac and Adrian Nocum did most of the damage for the Elasto Painters.
Santillan fired three triples on his way to 27 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocks; Mamuyac put up 24 points, five rebounds, two assists, and four steals; and Nocum waltzed his way to 24 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The three led Rain or Shine’s resurgence in the third period, where the Elasto Painters simply outran and outgunned the Bolts, 36-23.
Though the Bolts cut the deficit to 12 early in the fourth period, 106-118, there was nothing they could do about Rain or Shine’s run-and-gun approach.
Bong Quinto paced Meralco with 23 points, five rebounds, two assists,and a steal.
CJ Cansino and Raymar Jose each scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds for Meralco, which found itself spiraling to its third straight loss in five games.
Rain or Shine vs Meralco Scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 128 – Santillan 27, Mamuyac 24, Nocum 24, Lemetti 13, Norwood 12, Clarito 10, Malonzo 9, Caracut 7, Borboran 2, Asistio 0.
MERALCO 116 – Quinto 23, Jose 21, Cansino 21, Banchero 14, Hodge 8, Caram 7, Bates 6, Black 5, Rios 4, Newsome 3, Reyson 2, Almaazan 2, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 29-28, 66-59, 102-82, 128-116.