Paul Lee admitted that he now sees the need to adjust to the things thrown his way by former coach Yeng Guiao following his limited output in the Magnolia Hotshots’ 87-88 loss to the NLEX Road Warriors in Game One of their semifinal series, Saturday night.
The Lethal Weapon — who collected a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds in their quarters match-up with the GlobalPort Batang Pier earlier this week — was held to just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and three boards with five turnovers.
“Yun. Maganda game plan sa’kin ano? I need to figure out next game ano gagawin ko,” said Lee, who had been averaging 17.0 points per game prior.
“Wala tayong magagawa dun. Hindi enough siguro yung preparation ko.”
Lee admitted that what also made it hard for him to get his groove on was the fact that Guiao put various defenders on him. “Nahirapan din ako. Naguluhan din. Iba-iba talaga yung binigay na depensa sa’kin,” he said.
“Sinubukan naming humanap ng paraan para ma-control si Paul,” said Guiao, on the other hand, who has previously emphasized the need to have a good plan on Lee.
“And we actually succeeded at least partly, and we won the game.”
The fiery mentor, however, is preparing for Lee’s revenge plot.
“I know Paul,” expressed Guiao, who personally picked Lee back in the 2011 Rookie Draft and enjoyed two titles with Rain or Shine with him.
“He knows pinaghahandaan ko siya. Next game babawi yun, so kailangan handa kami.”
And so for Lee, he assured that he’ll regain his form come Game Two on Monday.
“Wala naman tayong ibang gagawin, so babawi talaga tayo,” he claimed.