The bench mob tradition of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters continues
With Gabe Norwood (sore eyes) and Raymond Almazan (injured left calf) out for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday afternoon, utility forward Ronnie Matias and winger Don Trollano more than stepped up during Rain or Shine’s 97-82 romping of the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
“Credit goes to the players because last minute, Gabe couldn’t play today,” head coach Caloy Garcia shared. “The other players stepped up like Ronnie Matias and Don Trollano.
“But basically I told the players, we don’t rely on only one player, we have to play as a team.”
For his part, Trollano was producing decent numbers off the bench for Rain or Shine. In the team’s first six games this conference, he was putting up 5.2 markers per match. But when he was called upon to start against the Fuel Masters, he brought the aggression — finishing the game with nine points in just 14 minutes of game time.
“Aggressive ako, kuha ng offensive rebounds, pag open tira,” he said.
“Yun lang naman ang laging sinasabi ni coach sa akin, na aggressive lang, focus, tapos ‘pag open, tira talaga.”
With his noteworthy deliverance, Trollano says that it was a conscious effort on his part to up his game a notch in lieu of Norwood.
“Yun na nga, kailangan ko mag-step up kasi wala si Gabe ngayon, and siguro kailangan kung punan yung [spot] niya,” the 15th overall pick in the 2015 draft shared.
On the other hand, Matias, who was scoreless in four games this season — even a DNP in two assignments — made the most out of his 15 minutes on the floor, as he flirted with a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.
“Actually sa practice pa lang sinabi na ni Coach Caloy na kailangan yung mga ‘di nagagamit ng todo, kailangan mag-step up. Ayun, maganda naman pinakita namin,” the seven-year veteran remarked.
If Trollano’s level of play came from his aggressiveness, Matias had wanted to prove a point.
“Gusto ko magpakita talaga. Basta ‘pag ginagamit ka, kailangan ready ka talaga,” said Matias.
With Trollano’s and Matias’ stellar showings, Rain or Shine is proving that their culture still lives on even with a new mentor.
