Ryan Pearson is simply choosing to stay locked in on another important task ahead even if he has enough reason to celebrate on Friday night.
The Rain or Shine import finally scored his first PBA win following their 116-97 booting-out of Blackwater, but he already has his sights set for next week’s battle against Magnolia that could tell their fate in the Commissioner’s Cup.
“For me, it’s just another game, you know,” the American cager told reporters moments after the match at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
“It was good to get this first win for me and for our team just to get back on the winning side of things. But, it’s not to get too excited,” he added. “We just need to prepare and take the good from this one and prepare for the next game.”
Pearson’s disposition is understandable. Despite the Elasto Painters’ skid-ending victory over the Bossing for their fifth win, they would still need to beat the Hotshots for a much better chance to reach the quarterfinals.
But it won’t be a walk in the park, surely. Rain or Shine will be facing the current 2-seed, who’s carrying an 8-2 card and is eyeing to sweep its last two elimination round assignments as it aims for the remaining Top Two ticket.
Head coach Yeng Guiao knows how tough it will be but isn’t losing any optimism, especially with Pearson playing — and meshing — well.
“Mabigat yung huling kalaban namin, yung Magnolia. But gumaganda naman laro ng import namin. He’s playing better, he’s actually more efficient now, rebounding better. Mas gamay na niya yung mga kasama niya,” he said.
The 32-year-old did play well, especially against Blackwater, where he tallied 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting on top of 12 rebounds and five assists.
Pearson said that the long break they had after their previous game versus Converge helped a great deal in building camaraderie with his squad.
“I think it’s been cool. We had a lot of practice time in between these three games. So I think that really helped us to kinda mesh well, kinda get comfortable with each other on and off the court,” he said.
“It helped me a lot personally, being that I just got here, so I needed the time,” added the 10-year pro out of George Mason. “Get some more stamina, and game shape, and things like that. For me personally, I know I needed it.”
Now that they have another week before the Magnolia game, Pearson and Co. look to maximize the time in gearing up for the crucial tiff.
“We can’t look ahead or look at other teams. We had a task. We wanted to win tonight, and we got another game in a week, and we just want to prepare ourselves and put ourselves in a position to win that game,” he said.
“And whatever happens, happens.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
