,In the Columbian Dyip’s 100-106 defeat to the struggling Meralco Bolts last Friday, all eyes had been on Rashawn McCarthy, as the athletic combo guard had said that that particular match was a winnable one.
“We thought we had a chance against Blackwater, but we let that game slip away,” rued McCarthy.
Four nights later, though, McCarthy and Columbian were able to redeem themselves from that loss. They escaped, 85-82, from the clutches of erstwhile-league leaders Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
“It was good. I started cramping up in the third quarter, but my teammates pulled together, and we found a way to get the victory” said McCarthy, who led the Dyip with 22 points. “A big win if we wanna move into the quarterfinals.
“We needed that. Big time.”
Wednesday’s win is more satisfying since the Dyip have now won over Rain or Shine for four straight conferences – an achievement considering that they went 0-9 versus the Elasto Painters in their first three seasons.
“I was with Gabe [Norwood] last night for dinner, we were talking about that.
“It’s fun to play against those guys. Let’s make it five straight,” quipped McCarthy, who arrived to the Dyip in 2017 as part of the Christian Standhardinger deal.
But before setting his sights on getting win number five versus the Elasto Painters, McCarthy is more focused in the quarterfinals. The three-year pro likes his side’s chances for the next round, now that they are at 4-5.
“Yeah. We’re in [a] pretty good position now with two games left. I think if we get one out of the two we should be in, but hopefully, we can get two out of two which would really secure it,” said McCarthy, a two-time PBA champ.
Columbian’s second-to-the-last game will be against the Magnolia Hotshots. McCarthy is aware of the challenge looming, so he hopes that the Dyip will be prepared by the time they face them on March 13.
Magnolia recently snapped their three-game losing skid, earning a 92-86 win over the Meralco Bolts last Saturday.
“We play Magnolia next. I know they’re a hungry team, they’re a championship team, so it’s gonna be another challenge for us. They’re at the bottom, they’re trying to climb the ladder, so we gotta be prepared for them.”
