Joel Wright seemed doomed after he picked up four personal fouls in just the first half of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters’ 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup meeting with the Columbian Dyip on Sunday evening.
“I’m a big emotional guy… The more time my emotions are up, that’s when I get these little stupid fouls.”
Wright had enough reason for disappointment, but fortunately he kept his head up. According to the American cager, he had researched this Rain or Shine team before joining them, enough to see he would play for a good team.
So that’s where his confidence came from — the confidence that his teammates could step up for him.
“We got a great team. I mean, me in foul trouble, I knew once I came here — I already did my research on these guys — these guys play well… So I already knew I was fine. I have faith in these guys,” said the 29-year-old.
“These guys all work hard, so I was confident about the situation of being in foul trouble.”
The Elasto Painters did their job of managing things even their import foul-plagued. But down the stretch, and with the game still hanging in the balance, the 6-foot-5 Wright made sure to pay back the efforts of his teammates.
Rain or Shine were down by two points with 1:59 remaining in the game. Wright then took over, scoring seven of his team’s last nine points to give the Elasto Painters the 96-90 win — their first win of the season-ending conference.
“That’s just stepping up and tryna get my team a win,” said Wright, who finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Still, Wright did not forget his foul issues. He vowed to control his emotions and limit the times he’s being whistled at.
“The refs are doing a great job. I just gotta control my emotions and control the fouls.”
