OFF to another winless start amidst a spate of bad luck, Rain or Shine is looking for just one break to turn its fortunes around in the PBA Philippine Cup.
“At some point our luck will change,” said Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao. “Ang importante, nandoon ka lang. You’re keeping yourself in the battle and at some point, you can get a break.”
San Miguel Beer is not one to lessen Rain or Shine’s troubles as the Beermen are bent on opening their own conference campaign on a bright note when they collide at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’re good,” said SMB coach Jorge Gallent, adding his team is ready to start carving a fitting follow up to its Commissioner’s Cup title run.
That should be bad news for Guiao, who had been hoping to catch the Beermen while they are still hung over. “Blessing sa amin ‘yung unang game nila kami. Alam namin na medyo hindi pa sila masyadong nakakapag-practice, galing sa break sa championship,” he said.
“Probably a good time to play them,” added Guiao. “Siguro wala pang masyadong sense of urgency, kasi nga kaka-champion lang nila. That might be something we can take advantage of.”
Gallent would beg to differ since his team has been back to the practice gym since March 4 and is now relatively complete, including June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo, and only the still-injured Kyt Jimenez out.
“Nag-start kami weights and court na iyon kaya medyo bugbugan na iyon,” related Gallent. “We were only nine and eight sa start, pero na-achieve naman namin iyung gusto naming ma-achieve sa mga hard practices namin lately and now we have 14 players.”
Following a 107-113 heartbreaker to Barangay Ginebra last Friday, Rain or Shine dropped to 0-3, which is perilously close to the 0-5 record it opened up the Commissioner’s Cup with.
Guiao’s team has now lost its first three games by a total of 11 points. But he is not about to push the panic button just yet, even with Keith Datu out for six weeks due to a partially torn MCL he suffered early in the Gin Kings game.
“Although tatlo na talo namin, wala naman kaming talo na talagang talo,” reasoned Guiao. “Mga talo namin mga dikit lang, p’wedeng manalo. Pero siguro dahil sa kabataan ng team namin hindi kami makapag-close out ng close games.”
The main culprit is the E-Painters’ free throw shooting as they have made only 44 out of the total 111 freebies awarded them thus far.” Puro free throws ang diperensiya,” he rued. “Naka-focus kami doon the last few days. We’ve been mentally trying to focus on our free throws.” (NC)
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