Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
BOCAUE – Playing in his first “Manila Clasico,” Paul Lee said that he wasn’t really overwhelmed with the magnitude of the duel or even the size of the world-class stadium like Philippine Arena.
“It was OK. It was the same game,” he quipped.
True enough, Lee didn’t shy away from the spotlight as he racked 20 points and five rebounds in a losing effort as Star fell to rival Ginebra, 86-79, on Sunday.
Despite keeping toe-to-toe with Ginebra all game-long, Lee said that the offensive rebounds led to the team’s downfall late in the game.
“We had a lot of breakdowns on offensive rebounds. That’s where we got doomed,” he said.
Though both teams registered the same number of offensive rebounds with 17, Ginebra emerged as the aggressor when it comes to cashing in on those opportunities with 19 second chance points compared to only 14 for Star.
Despite the defeat that snapped a three-game run, Lee is still satisfied with how Star has been fairing as it evens its record at 3-3, still tied for sixth place with Ginebra, Alaska, and Phoenix.
“We’re still a new team so I’m still happy that before the year ended, we’re 3-3. But a loss is just not the way we wanted to end the year,” he said.
“We have to go back to practice and improve on the things we need for the long haul.”
Star springs back into action on January 11 against Alaska.