Rain or Shine eyes deeper PHL Cup journey
THE hottest team in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters welcome the situation they are in but are not content as they aim to go even deeper in the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association tournament.
Holders of a 7-1 record, the Elasto Painters lead the league in wins and are already assured of a quarterfinal spot.
They, however, were quick to point out that topping the eliminations is not their primary goal and that they have to continue to work for consistency if they want to go far.
“We are 7-1. We did not expect this. But we have to be consistent. It does not make sense if you do well in the elimination round and then just lose in the playoffs,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia following their latest victory, a 75-74 squeaker over the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok on Feb. 13.
Mr. Garcia went on to say that the focus now for them, with a spot in the next round already assured, is to notch the needed wins to end up in the top two so as to put themselves in a better position to accomplish their goal of going deeper in the competition.
“With the quarterfinals spot assured our target now is to end up in the top two so that we can have a huge advantage entering the next round. Technically, if you have eight games won you have a good shot at top two. We just have to continue trusting the system and each other moving forward,” Mr. Garcia said.
As per tournament format, the top two teams at the end of the elimination round get a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals over their lower-seeded opponents.
Leading the Elasto Painters in their strong start is the resurgent James Yap, who has been averaging close to 15 points per game.
Mr. Yap, a two-time PBA most valuable player awardee, incidentally was the game hero in their victory over Magnolia, hitting the big shots down the stretch, including the game-winning threepoint play.
Also contributing well in Rain or Shine’s more fluid and balanced attack are guard Maverick Ahanmisi (13 ppg) and big men Norbert Torres (11 ppg) and Beau Belga (10 ppg).
As a team, the Elasto Painters are averaging 93.88 points (fifth in the league), 48.25 rebounds (7th) and 20.38 assists (8th).
Rain or Shine returns to action on March 3 against the TNT Ka Tropa as the league is currently in a two-week break to give way to PBA-backed Gilas Pilipinas’ bid in the sixth and final window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers. —