Fouls ruined Kayel Locke’s PBA debut with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Friday evening.
Locke had already picked up for three fouls in the first quarter alone, including two charges that should have been and-one plays and could have prevented RoS from finishing the said period 0-for-16.
Those fouls threw him off his rhythm, which the 25-year-old forward out of UNC Greensboro admitted.
“[Still] Trying to get used to the way that they play here.
“I think I got a couple bad calls in the first half, and that kind of messed my rhythm up a little bit,” said Locke, who came in to replace Joel Wright.
Meanwhile, coach Caloy Garcia added, “I think our import was thrown off the way he wanted to play today. And I believe two of those (fouls) are bad calls. Dalawang and-one eh, tinawagan parehas na offensive.
“So nawala yung rhythm from the beginning. He didn’t know what to do.”
Locke and the Elasto Painters then managed to get their groove going in the following quarters. They even gave the defending champions a major scare up to the end.
Rain or Shine fought back from a 58-68 deficit, unloading 10 straight points to the game up at 68-all with 2:17 left to play. Unfortunately, though, the breaks of the game went in Magnolia’s favor.
Locke then tried to take matters into his own hands, but Romeo Travis stripped the ball away from him. Travis got possession to Mark Barroca, who split his charities with 58.2 seconds left.
The Elasto Painters had chances but failed to convert. They eventually bowed at the end, 68-69.
While the loss may sting, Locke still takes pride in how he and his team fought. And now, he looks to get better together with his new teammates as they aim to improve their 1-3 card.
“We still fought. We showed some pride and fought well,” he said.
“Right now, [I’m] just trying to get back to rhythm and be able to help my team so we’ll be stronger the next time we play.”
