Jeric Teng soars for a lyup against John Wilson. PBA Photo/Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — Rain or Shine’s prized rookies were a non-factor in its backbreaking 94-89 victory over Meralco on Friday night at Cuneta Astrodome.
But Elastopainters’ head coach Yeng Guiao is confident that his first round picks will–sooner or later–get a grasp of the brand of play in the PBA.
“The rookies struggled today. They’re still learning the PBA style of play. But I have no doubt they’ll get there anyway,” Guiao said.
All three of them rode the bench as Beau Belga, Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, among others, gutted out a tough second win in the 2013 PBA Philippine Cup.
Lanky center Raymond Almazan, who debuted in the PBA on Friday after his duties in the NCAA, was scoreless in 14 minutes while getting outplayed by his senior counterparts.
“I got nervous, it’s a new league. It was only last week since I last played in the NCAA. I still have a lot of adjusting to make,” the NCAA season 89 Most Valuable Player told INQUIRER.net.
And Almazan got an early souvenir — absorbing an elbow from the Bolts’ veteran forward Reynel Hugnatan leaving him with a bloody lip.
“That was my welcome to the PBA moment,” Almazan said with a laugh in Filipino. “That was a veteran move. I’m not scared of the [big men], but they’re veterans already. I will learn that eventually.”
Former University of Santo Tomas gunner Jeric Teng likewise struggled, just coming up with a single point in 15 minutes of play.
“I’m still adjusting to the league and my team. We still need to get used to the sytem and our teammates, we need to gel with them,” Teng said.
Alex Nuyles, who started for the Elastopainters, came up with two points and five boards but admitted he’s still learning the ropes — especially on defending quicker guys.
“It’s really different here, the wingmen are really hard to defend. They’re all good. I get nervous so I have to focus all the time,” Nuyles said in Filipino.
While all three of them didn’t have immediate impact in the first two outings, Guiao — known for his bold ways of motivating his wards — remains patient.
“They struggled, but it’s really just a learning process for them at this point,” he said.