Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Rain or Shine swingman Gabe Norwood said it was strange playing against his former teammate Paul Lee for the first time on Sunday.
Lee played six seasons with the Elasto Painters before he was traded to the Star Hotshots in exchange for James Yap in the offseason.
“It was really weird. I can’t fake it. It was really weird to be out there, even when I was sitting on the bench, seeing him out there in another uniform,” Norwood said.
“We’re already getting adjusted seeing James (Yap) in our uniform. Now, seeing Paul out there and leading his team to victory, it kind of hurt that we’re on the back end of it.”
Chan echoed Norwood, saying, “Medyo nanibago ako kasi alam ko na partner ko yun dati at ngayon, kalaban na. Pero nung warmup, medyo nawala na rin naman.”
Lee didn’t waste time in showing Rain or Shine what it missed, scattering 14 points, four assists, and three rebounds and none bigger than the back-breaking three he fired within the final two minutes and his crucial assists to Aldrech Ramos to seal the 99-91 win.
But for Norwood, he wasn’t surprised that Lee has already adapted well to his new environment.
“He did well, he adjusted well, and his game is picking up. That’s what we expect, he’s a great player. He’s a great guy, a great teammate, and he’s going to do good things out there,” he said.
Moving past the drama, the E-Painter veterans said that the game should be a stern reminder for Rain or Shine after losing another big lead down the stretch, this time, gobbling up a 10-point edge in the third period.
“Learning talaga ito para sa amin kasi we were up by 10 tapos nagkaroon ng turnovers. Yun ang mali namin last two games, sa dalawang talo namin, doon kami nadadali,” said Chan.
“Siguro may kasama na rin na gigil. Pero kailangan lang naming matuto talaga na i-handle yung pressure.”
“We should have learned our lesson earlier against Ginebra. We had a lead and lost it, and even the game against Mahindra when we won big but we still got beat by 20 in the fourth quarter. We got to be better in fourth quarters and hopefully, we don’t put ourselves in that situation on Friday.”
Norwood opted to put this defeat behind and focus on the Elasto Painters’ next game, whatever the storyline may be.
“We want to finish strong this year. That puts even more on us going against NLEX thirsty for a win. That puts us on a tough spot,” he said.
Rain or Shine clashes against the Guiao-mentored NLEX in another high stakes battle on Friday at Philsports Arena.