Gian Mamuyac owned up to his costly foul that spelled doom for Rain or Shine in Game 2 of their PBA Philippine Cup semis clash versus TNT on Friday night.
The ball-hawking winger fell for Calvin Oftana’s bait and got whistled for a shooting foul with 7.7 seconds left in the fourth, awarding the latter three free throws upon review by the refs, which he all made to tie things up at 99-all.
Eventually, the Elasto Painters bowed in overtime by way of a 113-105 decision and are now staring at a 0-2 deficit in the best-of-7 series.
“I have to bounce back and learn from it, kasi medyo costly ‘yung naging nangyari and ‘yung weight nung loss namin na ‘to sa series na ‘to,” he said moments after emerging from the team’s locker at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Mamuyac explained that he only wanted to stop Oftana and the game clock, as Rain or Shine still had a foul to give at that point in time.
Giving his team enough room to set up their defense properly for a potential stop was also in his mind since they were protecting a three-point lead.
“I was just trying to be smart. But it backfired,” lamented the Ateneo de Manila product. “May fouls to give kasi kami. Na-foul sana nang hindi gathered; naka-set sana ‘yung defense, and more chances maka-stop kami.”
But he could only concede how he got outsmarted by Oftana, who went on to finish with a game-high 39 points and nine rebounds.
“Galing din ni Calvin, na-timingan niya. Alam kasi niya eh,” reflected Mamuyac, whose counterpart could’ve actually shot four free throws, but the game officials apparently missed seeing the part where he shot from 27 feet.
Mamuyac still had a chance to save Rain or Shine in the final play of regulation when he launched from three but the ball only hit the front rim.
“Actually, it felt good,” said the 28-year-old, who finished with 16 points on 17 shots, seven rebounds, and five assists in the defeat.
“I thought it was gonna go, kaso short nga lang. Diretso naman eh,” he furthered. “And also, a great play designed by Coach Yeng.”
As hard as it was, Mamuyac has zero regret with that miss, keeping his chin up high and vowed to make it should there be an opportunity for him.
Well, staying confident is what all of Rain or Shine would need as it now looks to avoid falling to a dangerous 0-3 hole in the race-to-4 affair.
“No regrets naman. It felt good, hindi lang pumasok. Move on. Next shot naman. I’ll make the next one,” he said.
#WATCH: “I WAS JUST TRYING TO BE SMART BUT IT BACKFIRED”
Gian Mamuyac owns up to the late foul on Calvin Oftana that ended up costing RoS Game 2 of the #PBA2025 Philippine Cup semis
🎥 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/Ez03rxW5Qh
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) June 27, 2025
