Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao was left frustrated after the Elasto Painters struggled in the second half and eventually lost to Barako Bull, 112-103 Sunday despite leading early in the match.
Guiao attributed the loss primarily to the lack of support from the local crew to backstop its import Wendell McKines, who finished with 41 points and 17 rebounds while hitting 15-for-25 from the field and 10-for-11 from the foul line.
“Hindi pa naman makuha-kuha yung stride. Walang problema sa performance ng import. He is giving is best. We cannot ask more from his numbers. It’s not an import problem. It’s a local problem,” Guiao quipped after the Elasto Painters sank to 1-4 in the conference.
McKines, who is averaging only above 16 field goal attempts per match entering the tussle against Barako Bull, took 25 shots while his usage rate (USG%) — an estimate of how much a player is involved in offensive possessions — rose slightly to 32.7 percent from an average of only 29 percent.
Paul Lee (21 points, 4 assists) was the lone local who scored in double-digits outside of McKines, while the rest struggled from the field. Three locals are averaging in twin-digits for Rain or Shine in the conference.
“Wala pa rin [ang chemistry]. May mga galing ng injury. Jeff [Chan] particularly has not gotten his rhythm yet particularly. Kulang pa rin. Defensively we needed someone to stop the two guards,” Guiao added, stating Joseph Yeo and RR Garcia (45 points combined on 19-for-34 shooting) delivered big games and were not stopped.
“Si Garcia at si Yeo played incredible games. We struggled trying to make the stops against them. We just gave [the two] too many opportunities. The percentages were too high.”
Guiao also ruled out fatigue, and hopes his team continues to regroup to make the playoffs, regardless of seeding.
“We don’t think we are tired. By this time we should be recovering and I hope it is not too late and we can save ourselves from being eliminated. Even if we are in the lower 4 of the top 8 we still have a chance to upset the top teams,” he said.
