Throughout the course of Rain ot Shine’s four-year championship drought, forward Beau Belga always used the “pako” analogy to describe the Elasto Painters’ journey.
Whenever the team had fallen short in winning a conference, Belga said it was because their feet were nailed to the ground. He always wished for those nails to be finally removed, and after winning the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title last Wednesday, Belga said the crew was finally able to lift their feet.
“Nabunot na. Hopefully hindi na ulit lumubog. Pangalawa ko pa lang to in eight years na career ko sa PBA. Sana mayroon pang kasunod,” Belga shared.
“Iba yung pakiramdam ng sobrang tagal ka naghintay at maraming chances, gusto mong magtatatalon.”
Asked about what to him choosing such analogy over others, Belga said: “Parang alam mo yung paa namin, nakalubog eh. Nakakapasok kami ng finals, nananalo kami ng dalawa, tatlo, pero parang hindi mo mahugot ng dire-diretso eh.”
Come to think of it, Belga chose the perfect analogy. Rain or Shine had fallen short in three finals appearances over the past three seasons, and those experiences have been very painful to the squad.
“Kaya ako na-enganyo na yung pako, nakatusok sa paa namin, nakalubog sa lupa. Hindi ko alam saan nakapako. Hindi naman siguro sa lupa lang kasi ayaw mabunot eh. Kung sa lupa, mabilis lang eh,” Belga added.
But now that the Elasto Painters have removed themselves from those traps, Belga said all of the pain brought by the team’s previous experiences are beginning to subside.
“Yung sakit na ‘yun pag nag-champion ka, gagaling na yun eh,” Belga said.
His only wish moving forward is for the team to keep themselves off those nails again.
“Ngayong nabunot, sana hindi na bumalik,” he said.
