Sidney Onwubere and Rain or Shine saw the end of their strong 3-0 start into the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup after absorbing a stinging one-point loss in the hands of a resurgent Alaska Aces, Thursday night.
“Sobrang sakit, kasi first loss,” said the third-year forward. “We really wanted to win pero andun naman kami eh. Andun naman si Rey [Nambatac], hindi lang talaga na-shoot ‘yung lay-up. Pero we were there in the game.”
Onwubere was responsible for helping the Elasto Painters pull away in the final quarter. He scored six straight points to give his side a 75-68 advantage with less than seven minutes remaining.
That, until Vic Manuel and the Aces stormed back through a 14-2 scoring spree to take a five-point lead and eventually the 89-88 win. Alaska even dodged a bullet after Rey Nambatac’s potential game-winning lay-up missed.
Aside from missing the opportunity to extend its streak, Rain or Shine’s loss also wasted the solid performance of Onwubere. He finished with a team-best 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
The 6-foot-3 bruiser, though, could not feel satisfied with his performance despite churning a season-best outing. Instead, he noted that he failed to grab a single rebound in the loss — this, after averaging 5.7 boards prior.
“I need to contribute more sa defense. And in that game, I had zero rebounds. Para sa’kin malaking negative kasi knowing myself, nabubuhay ako sa rebounds, sa hustle, sa defense, which hindi ko na-provide that game,” he said.
Onwubere isn’t dwelling on the loss, though, even if his game went for naught. For the former Emilio Aguinaldo College star, he simply feels blessed to have the opportunity to play.
Across four games into this bubble season, the Filipino-Nigerian has been logging an average of 22.02 minutes. Previously, he saw action for just 4.5 minutes in the 20 games he played last season.
Besides his 28-minute outing in one game for TNT during his rookie year in 2017, Onwubere did not have the chance to get his feet wet in the same way as this, for which he is grateful.
“I’m just really blessed to be playing again kasi nga it’s been a crazy two years. The past two years parang ‘di ako nabibigyan ng pagkakataon,” he said. “I’m just really blessed to be playing again.
“From Talk N Text, doon ko na-experience na hindi nakakapaglaro. Ang daming adjustment. So when I went to Rain or Shine, dun ‘yung parang, siguro makakapaglaro na ako, I just need to do my best. Pero marami pang kulang. Marami pang adjustment na kailangang gawin. And then dumating ‘tong bubble, nabigyan ako ng pagkakataon. So ‘yun, I’m just taking advantage of it.”
Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia has previously said they knew Onwubere’s capabilities when they acquired him from TNT via trade in 2018, where Jericho Cruz was the centerpiece.
“When we got him from Talk N Text from a trade, we saw something in him. But it took us time for him to adjust kasi kung alam niyo history niya, late na ata siya nag-basketball e. But his build is for basketball,” he said.
And so far, the soft-spoken cager has been proving the Elasto Painters right. After the Alaska match, Onwubere now has per-game norms of 10.25 points, alongside 4.25 rebounds on a 38-percent clip from the field.
“Just taking advantage of the opportunity na binibigay sa akin ni Coach and just following his instructions, and just trying to help the team,” said Onwubere, who was drafted by Phoenix in the first round of the 2017 Draft.
“Kung ano ‘yung maco-contribute ko — whether it’s points, defense, rebounds, or assists… Anything that will help the team win, I’m willing to do that.”
