What was supposed to be a promising 2017 Philippine Cup for Rain or Shine has turned out to be auspicious.
Early this conference, the Elasto Painters, deemed to be reeling from the loss of Coach Yeng Guiao, let everybody know that Guiao’s departure won’t affect their overall performance.
With Caloy Garcia taking the reins from the 57-year-old mentor, Rain or Shine’s still displayed their old self, even going 5-2 midway into the conference to gain share of the second spot. The said record also propelled them nearer to the playoffs.
It could have been a walk in the park towards the next round for the now star-studded squad of Rain or Shine. However, the once-top team have not been their usual selves as of late.
The last three games proved to be a rocky road to tread on for the 11-year-old franchise. The skid started against the San Miguel Beermen, 107-101, which was then followed up by another loss — a stunning one — to the Meralco Bolts, 82-72.
And their third straight defeat, to make things worse for them, came into the hands of a hot-shooting Terrence Romeo and Globalport Batang Pier, 117-99, Sunday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Looking at the numbers from the losing skid, Rain or Shine have been losing by a margin of 11.3 points — a far cry from the average losing margin of 7.5 points they had absorbed against the likes of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Purefoods Star Hotshots.
The recent defeat to the Batang Pier proved costly for the Elasto Painters. Not only were they blown away, but it also threw away their hopes of clinching a spot in the quarterfinals had they reigned victorious.
And for Garcia, this current slump of his team at the most crucial stretch of the Philippine Cup is attributed to the broken wholeness of the team.
“Some players are just playing for themselves,” lamented Garcia. “They’re not taking anymore like the old Rain or Shine team na we help each other out.
“Ngayon watak-watak yung dating nila and it happens. We know what the problem is and we just have to fix it. The main problem is between them. Nawawala yung sharing the ball, parang minsan nagkakahiyaan sila ng pasahan.”
“We are not as fluid as before. We just have to step out and must make a recover after this game,” furthered the youthful think-tank.
The Elasto Painters went from almost owning a twice-to-beat advantage for the playoffs down to being dragged into a must-win situation against Alaska Aces next Wednesday. Garcia is fully aware of all the what-ifs and stipulations heading into that match, but his concern for now is the welfare of his players.
“I’m more worried of our players on how they react and I hope they can step out of their shadows and talk to themselves and maayos nila problema nila,” said Garcia.
And for Garcia, his job, for now, is to help his players understand their roles and regain the confidence they lost as their backs are against the wall.
“It’s just that we have to make them believe that we have a chance. We have to make them believe that we are stll a good team. We just have to step back and let others try to grab the spotlight, which dun nga medyo nawawala pa mga players,” Garcia hoped.
