The future is becoming bleak for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
From a promising start that even saw them place second by posting a 5-2 record, the Elasto Painters are now in a whirlwind of uncertainties at the last stage of the 2017 Philippine Cup.
Wednesday night, the Elasto Painters wrapped up their elimination round stint on a losing note, succumbing to their fourth straight loss into the hands of the Alaska Aces, 94-89.
Had they reigned victorious, Rain or Shine could have clinched the eighth and final quarterfinal seat, and they could also have kicked Blackwater out of the playoff race in the process. However, all those stipulations are now mere could-have-beens, what-ifs.
Rain or Shine and Blackwater now sport the same 5-6 win-loss record, and they will vie for the final playoff spot this Friday to complete the quarterfinals picture.
The Elasto Painters are surely drowning in negativity with the disappointing loss. Opportunities were there in front of them, but they failed to capitalize and grab those.
But for James Yap, he thinks otherwise.
“Well, bounce back. Actually sa dulo lang nagkakatalo. First to gitna ng fourth, okay naman. So sana madala namin for knockout game against Blackwater,” said Yap, who played through with a flu.
The 6-foot-4 guard was talking about the collapse ROS committed late in the game. The Elasto Painters were actually in the driver’s seat, 79-86, with 7:15 to go in the final frame, but failed to hold on to the precarious seven-point advantage.
Yap was benched by head coach Caloy Garcia during that crucial stretch. Without him on the floor, the Elasto Painters then faced a three-minute scoring drought, missing all six of their field goal attempts.
However, Yap, who led Rain or Shine with 16 markers, still addressed positive takeaways from the loss, particularly their performance on the defensive end.
ROS was able to limit Alaska to just 94 points (down from their 97.2 average) and were able to score 20 points off of Alaska’s 13 turnovers.
“Sa depensa okay naman pero yung mga lapses lang.
“May chance pa naman eh, ‘di pa naman kami out. Itong game na ‘to, kalimutan na ‘to,” added the 12-year veteran.
Despite the stinging defeat, the Negros Occidental-native remains optimistic that this setback the ten-year-old franchise is facing will only help them improve as a single unit.
“Well ganun naman eh. Kailangan tiwala lang sa isa’t-isa. Kailangan solid ang team sa mga ganitong situation eh. Dito magiging matibay ang samahan. Manalo, matalo, intact kami,” said Yap, who is averaging 10.1 points per outing.
And now, Rain or Shine’s all locked in for their Friday night clash with the Elite happening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“Focus na sa Blackwater. Ganun lang naman basketball,” the two-time MVP, who has been in multiple situations like this, said.
