Javee Mocon said that Rain or Shine’s experience in last year’s bubble play in Clark has helped a lot in stabilizing their ship in the 2021 Honda PBA Philippine Cup.
The third-year forward and the Elasto Painters ended their two-game skid following a 75-72 squeaker against Magnolia on Friday. And for him, the lessons of the previous cage wars pushed the squad in the grind-out victory.
Looking back in the last all-Filipino tilt, the team started out with four straight wins. Then came the schedule shake-up, which seemed to affect them badly. They lost five of their last seven outings for a 6-5 card, and ultimately bowed in the quarters.
This year, RoS won their first three matches, only to lose four of their next five matches, bringing flashbacks of what happened in Clark. But then, Mocon and the rest of his squad only reminded themselves to learn from 2020.
Photo by PBA Images
“Napag-usapan namin na it’s the same thing. Same thing last year – Three wins, tapos natalo,” he said. “Sabi ko nga, we just need to learn from our mistakes.
“Kami, from the bubble experience, malaking tulong yun.”
Definitely, the Elasto Painters showed how much they’ve imbibed their lessons with the victory, which hiked their card to 5-4.
And Mocon himself showed the way for his crew. He finished with 19 points on a 53-percent clip from the floor in the 29 minutes and 25 seconds he saw action. He also picked up eight rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
“May mga good and bad games ako eh, so Coach [Chris Gavina] is just preaching to keep playing, and learn from my mistakes,” he said of his outing.
The San Beda product said that their desire to inch closer to the playoffs also motivated Rain or Shine, which is currently at sixth in the standings.
“It’s a collective effort itong win na ‘to,” he said.
“We really need this badly to enter the playoffs. Coach has been preaching confidence, staying as a team, togetherness, so ito yung result nun.”
