The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ off-season was a busy one.
Unlike some teams, who usually do their preparations here at home, the Elasto Painters traveled all the way to Bahrain last January 2 to play in a series of tuneups against Bahraini Premier League finalists Al Muharraq and Al Manama.
Those friendlies meant Rain or Shine were sharp for their season opener.
Rain or Shine kicked off their 2019 PBA Philippine Cup on the right note after conquering the NLEX Road Warriors Friday night, 96-87, spoiling the debut of Poy Erram and the return of Kevin Alas from injury in the process.
For James Yap, that Bahrain stint was nothing but beneficial for them.
“Hindi kami masyado nakapag-pahinga nung off-season, halos tuluy-tuloy yung practice namin.
“Pumunta kaming Bahrain, naglaro kami dun, mga kalaban namin tatlong import. Siguro nadala namin in this game,” said Yap, a seven-time champion.
Even Yap himself had an excellent performance in the victory.
The 36-year-old sniper shot 57-percent from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc en route to 20 points to pace his side. In fact, Friday was the two-time league Most Valuable Player’s best outing since the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup semis.
“Ako naman kasi, ready lang. Nagpapa-kondisyon naman ako sa sarili ko, before practice nagpa-play ako. Sinabihan din ako ni coach na ready ako this conference, so tumatak sa isip ko yun,” said the 15-year veteran.
“Kumbaga excited din ako, kailangan ready, kasi sinabihan ka din ng coach mo.”
But more than the excitement, for Yap, what really worked wonders in the victory is their extreme eagerness to perform better this conference following their forgettable campaign in the 2018 Governors’ Cup.
Rain or Shine only racked up a 3-8 record in that season-ending joust.
“Nung na-out kami last conference, ‘di naman namin makakalimutan yun,” said Yap. “Every practice, nakikita ko lahat kami focused kasi kailangan bumawi.
“Alam namin lahat ng player kung anong pakiramdam nung ma-out.”
