During their first meeting in the 2017 Governor’s Cup elimination round, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters took a convincing 105-73 win against the TNT Katropa. And they did it without Gabe Norwood and Raymond Almazan due to their Gilas Pilipinas duties.
That is why the two internationalists, especially the 32-year-old Norwood, were extra motivated on Tuesday night, when the Elasto Painters faced the twice-to-beat-armed Katropa in the quarterfinals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“[There was] A little bit of pressure for me and Raymond. You know, they won big without us,” said the versatile nine-year veteran. “We wanted to come out and show the same effort that they did to put us in this position.
“We wanted to actually come out and compete.”
Being the competitors they are, Norwood and Almazan played the way they usually do. And their efforts paid off greatly, as they helped the Elasto Painters upend the Katropa, 106-102, to force a sudden death this coming Friday.
“We didn’t finish the way we wanted to but at the end of the day, a win is a win,” said the nine-year pro of the triumph, where he finished with 15 points spiked by four triples on top of nine rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Wednesday night truly belonged to the Elasto Painters, even if the Katropa made a gallant fourth-quarter stand from 20 points down, for they made a living from beyond the arc. In the win, RoS nailed a whopping 16 three-pointers.
“Who’s to say we might come.out and something else was needed?” said Norwood of their shooting. “Every game is different but we’re just gonna stick to our gameplan. Coaches did a great job preparing us. We just go from there.”
But despite the win, Norwood warned that a battle will surely ensue this Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, as he is heavily expecting a retaliation from the Texters side.
“It’s gonna be a battle,” claimed the two-time champion. “There’s a lot of champions from that squad — from the coaches to the coaching staff to the players. [It will be a] Hard game. And all that won’t be questioned.
“It’s just gonna be both sides doing what they can to get to the semis.”
