June Mar Fajardo vs Rain or Shine defense. PBA IMAGES
As of late, coach Yeng Guiao has been talking about Rain or Shine’s readiness for the big games.
Though the team had to go through the tough grind of the quarterfinals, that proved to be beneficial for the Elasto Painters as they have slowly reclaimed the deadly form they showed earlier in the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup.
And one of the guys to prosper in that stretch was Raymond Almazan.
The third-year big man has slowly come to his own, making his mark in the team alongside Rain or Shine’s famed Extra Rice combo of Beau Belga and JR Quiñahan.
That was seen best in the E-Painters’ 104-89 victory against TNT to advance to the semifinals, where the former Letran Knight punished the Tropang Texters frontline en route to 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks.
Almazan knows the importance of his emergence, more so that Rain or Shine is due against the two-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and San Miguel.
“I think we’re more ready this time. When we defeated them, I think they have already adjusted. We’ll see what we’ll be adjusting on,” he said, reflecting on the E-Painters’ 99-84 triumph against the Beermen.
The Rain or Shine frontline did an admirable job making Fajardo’s life worse in that meeting, forcing the Cebuano giant to struggle from the field and limiting him to a silent 13-point, 10-rebound outing.
Almazan, though, admitted that shadowing Fajardo wasn’t a walk in the park.
“We really ran out of gas against June Mar. You can just take him lightly,” he said.
It also helps that aside from the trio, Jewel Ponferrada has also been contributing well for Guiao, to the delight of Almazan.
“Jewel is such a big help for us because we our playing time is distributed. 25 minutes is already long. That adds to our height so it’s really a big help,” he said.
Almazan promised that there would no longer be any let-ups from the Rain or Shine side after the grindhouse it had been in, and that the eliminations meeting between the Elasto Painters and the Beermen is just a prelude to what will happen come January 5.
“We’ll push ever harder than we did in the eliminations. In the semifinals, whoever wants it more, that team is going to win,” he said.