Jeff Chan shrugs off black eye, comes through for Rain or Shine

Jeff Chan nursing a black eye. PBA IMAGES

Battered and bruised, but never defeated.

Jeff Chan showed resiliency and kept his head in the game despite the black eye he got on his left eye.

Inadvertently hit by Rain or Shine teammate Mo Charlo’s elbow on a rebound play in the third quarter, the Elasto Painters gunner stood firm, going to the bench for a short break before wrapping up the 103-98 victory against Mahindra on Wednesday.

“OK pa naman. Malayo naman sa atay,” he quipped.

Chan lit up the Enforcers in the second half, shooting 3-of-5 from threes as he dropped 14 of his 18 points in the payoff period. He also had five rebounds and two assists.

He even nailed the go-ahead three with 2:26 to go to put Rain or Shine up, 96-95, and once again struck at the 35.6 mark of the frame to push his team further up, 102-97.

Hurting and all, the Negrense shooter said that his offensive outburst was a testament to his dedication to keep on pushing.

“Kailangan maging aggressive lang at nung naka-shoot ako, na-feel kong ok na at nagtuloy-tuloy naman,” he said. “Hinanap din naman ako ng mga bigs eh, so yun ang maganda.”

And Chan’s sacrifices bore rewards, with Rain or Shine racking its third straight victory to improve to 4-3.

With the win already under his team’s belt, all Chan wants to do now is rest and ice his black eye.

“Kanina nga kinakapa ko kasi akala ko basag na ang cheekbone ko,” he shared. “Ayos naman na sya, kailangang i-yelo na lang.”