For James Yap, there’s practically nothing to be sad for his Rain or Shine Elasto Painters even if their run in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup had come to a bitter end, Monday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters’ aspirations of challenging the San Miguel Beermen for the mid-season conference crown got crushed after barely losing to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 94-96, in Game Four of the semifinals.
“Talagang I’m so proud with my teammates na talagang hindi nag-give up, lumaban kami, and short lang, pero andami naming natutunan for this series,” shared the 14-year pro.
“Sana madala namin in the next conference.”
The loss is not a microcosm of the way they played this conference, for the Elasto Painters had a remarkable run.
After four straight quarterfinal exits since former head coach Yeng Guiao left in 2016, Rain or Shine seemed to have regained their winning swag this conference, that they headed into the playoffs as the top-seeded team.
Even Yap himself had some sort of rejuvenation in the playoffs: a 27-point explosion in the quarterfinals, and an 18-point performance back in Game Two of the semis greatly highlighted by his big shots down the stretch.
So for the two-time PBA Most Valuable Player, it had definitely been a conference worth learning from.
“Actually maganda, maganda yung takbo ng team,” said the 36-year-old sniper. “Nag-number one kami. Siguro ‘di pa talaga time namin na makapunta sa finals, pero for this conference marami kaming natutunan, sana madala namin next conference.
“Marami kaming natutunan, so ayun. Kalimutan na ‘tong laro na ‘to. Basketball, hindi natin makukuha lahat. Hindi pa time namin na makapasok sa Finals. Maybe next conference.”
