After being eliminated in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs race, it’s time for Rain or Shine to ponder on things.
The Elasto Painters won their first game of the season, escaping newcomer Converge, 79-77, then a drought ensued.
Rain or Shine went on to drop each of its next six matches to fall to 1-6, before having a spirited three-game winning streak to pump life to its playoff bid.
But Magnolia shut the door Wednesday night, crushing the Elasto Painters by 31 points, 118-87, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Obviously, difficult questions will be needed to be answered in regards to the roster,” said head coach Chris Gavina after being eliminated.
“What do we need? what do we have to adjust including me? How we run our things, tactical as well as technique,” he added, citing the burning questions.
“There’s always room for improvement like it could be roster changes, it could be simple details on how we execute.”
But one thing’s for sure, Gavina will go to battle with his guys, especially with the way his squad battled for dear life in their last four games.
That, despite Rain or Shine being plagued with health and safety protocols, caused it to miss three and four players against Terrafirma and the Hotshots, respectively.
Against the Dyip, they missed the services of Gabe Norwood, Beau Belga, and Mike Nieto. The last two resumed play Wednesday.
However, Rey Nambatac, Jewel Ponferada, and Mark Borboran joined Norwood in the protocols for their last game.
“I can’t be more proud of how these guys competed for the last four games, being able to win our last three out of four,” said Gavina.
“Then dealing with the health and safety protocols of six of our top vets from Terrafirma to this game.”
Despite the issues that the squad needs to address, Gavina still sees a silver lining in the team.
“A lot of positives though in regards to what we have in store.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
