MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine center Raymond Almazan botched two wide open jumpers in the fourth quarter and got an earful from his fiery head coach Yeng Guiao after.
“Sabi niya wag daw ako mag-settle sa jump shot kasi yung dalawang jump shot ko sobra so medyo nagising ako nang konti nung nasigawan ni coach,” Almazan said.
“Sabi niya kahit ako kaya kong gawin yon,” the lanky 6-foot-7 Almazan added.
Guiao’s message was heard loud and clear by Almazan, who keyed in a pivotal run by the Elasto Painters after that.
The former NCAA MVP scored half of his 16 points in only a minute – he came out of nowhere to put back a missed triple by Chris Tiu before completing back-to-back three-point plays that stretched the Painters’ lead back to 15, 107-92, with 5:35 left.
“Raymond Almazan missed the easy shots but he made the difficult shots,” said Guiao smiling.
“He was also rebounding against PJ Ramos so again, it’s a positive sign for us. It’s also probably a sign of maturity for Raymond who is just getting his game established in the PBA,” Guiao added.
Almazan shot 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 at the line and grabbed nine rebounds. He also provided a highlight after faking off Ramos and driving for the baseline dunk in the second quarter.
The second-year player also said he’s thankful for the confidence Guiao is giving him.
“Kung hindi niya ako pinili baka wala na rin ako ngayon,” said Almazan, who was selected third overall by Guiao and the Painters in the draft two years ago. “Basta every time na gamitin ako, all out lang ako.”
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