Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia told his wards to man up and accept the defeat after its heartbreaking 107-101 overtime loss to San Miguel on Friday.
“That’s basketball. We had a chance to win the game, but we just turned the ball over in the end. They hit the big shot, they forced us to the big turnover, and that’s it,” he said.
The Elasto Painters looked poised to snag the win after holding a 96-90 advantage in the final 2:38 of the fourth. But crucial misses and a relentless Beermen rally kept the game alive.
A steal by Chris Ross on Beau Belga that led to Alex Cabagnot draining the game-tying jumper with 1.8 ticks left sent the game into overtime.
Garcia doesn’t think that his team relaxed at any point in the game, even in those final 2:38 where his side lost a six-point edge.
“You can never be complacent against a team like San Miguel. We hit two big three-point shots to get a six-point lead, then from there, we were missing wide-open shots. We were doing a good job on defense, but Cabagnot hit the big shot, and we didn’t,” he said, as Belga overshot his game-winner at the buzzer.
Garcia said that Rain or Shine’s resolve will be tested on how it will bounce back.
“These kinds of games will make us stronger, especially with the way we lost. We will be judged on how we will regroup,” he said.
There’s also no reason to frown with Rain or Shine’s bench playing a major role 58 points in the game, earning Garcia’s commendation.
“I think the game plan was okay. I told them the only positive thing I saw was the bench players coming out strong,” he said.
Despite the loss, the Elasto Painters are still at joint second place with GlobalPort with their identical 5-3 card.
Rain or Shine returns to action against Meralco on Friday at Cuneta Astrodome.