Wendell McKines of Rain or Shine vs Liam Paul McMorrow of Barako Bull
Barako Bull import Liam McMorrow hasn’t been in a situation like where he was on Saturday.
Playing in his first double overtime while facing elimination, McMorrow was left lamenting not making better decisions that could’ve made the difference in the Energy’s 134-132 loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in double overtime.
“That’s tough, so close,” said McMorrow after his 32 points and 23 rebounds weren’t enough to keep his team from getting the boot. “It’s all experience what you can take from that, from me. I’ve never been in that situation before. Double overtime, elimination [game]. It’s just gonna help me grow as a player.”
One of the things that the 7-foot McMorrow wished he could’ve done differently was the game’s final possession when Barako Bull guard Chico Lanete missed on a potential game-tying leaner.
“That last shot that Chico put up, now that I’m looking at it, if you can see the tape, I just watched it right and I’m looking for the rebound but maybe I should’ve grabbed it and used it as alleyoop,” McMorrow recalled as he shook his head.
Despite the heartbreaking exit, McMorrow said he’s proud of how the Energy pushed the Painters to their limit and doing while coming back from 25 points down.
“I don’t wanna go home. I really thought we could beat them. We’re down 25, came back and we had a chance in that first overtime to win. I really wanted to win. It was fun playing with these guys, they play so hard.”
Given a chance, McMorrow also said that he’d love to have another go in the PBA and continue what he started for Barako Bull, which had its moments starting the conference at 6-1 before losing its last five games.