It’s been 163 days since Jeff Chan was shockingly traded by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to the Phoenix Fuel Masters. Even if the 6-foot-2 sniper from Bacolod has already faced his former team twice, the sight of Chan wearing a jersey outside of the Elasto Painters’ blue and yellow is still something to behold.
Chan, on the other hand, has already moved on.
“Wala na. Medyo matagal na yun,” said the 33-year-old when asked whether he still feels odd whenever he faces Rain or Shine.
“Habol ko na lang is sana makaisa na ko sa kanila.”
After losing to his former team last September 13, 116-111, Chan — who won two championships with Rain or Shine — was eyeing payback. However, it was not meant to be, as Phoenix wound up on the wrong side of a blowout, 120-99, Wednesday evening.
It was a disappointing outing for the Fuel Masters, especially as they were coming off two straight impressive wins. Phoenix were already down by 26 points entering the second frame and fell behind by as much as 39 points in the third canto.
“Medyo masama yung gising namin today. Rain or Shine shot just better good today and we were not able to stop them,” rued Chan, who scored all 11 of his points during the third quarter.
“Yung first quarter pa lang, natambakan na kami at hindi na kami naka-recover.”
Though his team had suffered their second setback in four games, the 10-year pro was relieved that it happened early in the season instead in the crucial stages of the tournament.
“Mas maganda na nagkakamali ka ng maaga para makita namin saan kami magkamali at hindi maulit ito,” added Chan, who averaged 18.0 points prior to this game.
And Chan hopes that they can regain their bearings by Saturday, when they face the formidable Magnolia Hotshots.
“Siyempre lahat masama yung loob kasi talo. Again, we have a game on Saturday. We’ll go hard and hopefully we get the win.”
