Rain or Shine ‘gave up early’ in loss to TNT, says assistant coach

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Rain or Shine failed to win one for its head coach Yeng Guiao on Monday.

Guiao served a one-game suspension and without him, the Elasto Painters couldn’t do much in a 114-103 loss to TNT, in a game they trailed by as much as 22 points.

Assistant coach Caloy Garcia, who momentarily took over the ROS sidelines, noticed the big difference of not having Guiao’s authoritative presence and guidance on the bench.

“They suddenly had the confidence to do anything they want because no one will get mad at them the way coach Yeng would,” Garcia said. “Our defense wasn’t really there in the beginning.”

Despite playing poorly, the Painters still found their way back into the game as they closed the gap to just six, 79-73, late in the third period before TNT, behind the returning Jayson Castro, responded with a 22-6 tear bridging the final two quarters.

“There was some point in the third quarter where we played good defense and cut the lead down to six, but I got mad when TNT made that rally,” said Garcia. “I felt frustrated as a coach because it was a simple instruction that they weren’t able to do and that gave TNT the momentum again.”

“We lost our composure. We became so erratic when TNT started hitting their shots and we just started turning the ball over. We gave up early.”

Garcia said the crucial loss has forced Guiao, who followed the game from the confines of his home, to shorten the team’s four-day break to just three.

The Painters remain positive heading into their remaining games in the elimination round.

“It’s not clear on who’s going to be number one at the end of the eliminations because everybody still has a chance to be number one,” said Garcia. “But we can’t lose any more games. We have to focus on our next game first before thinking of the standings.”

Rain or Shine takes on Phoenix next on April 1.