Amid slump, Garcia hopes Elasto Painters learn from setbacks

Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Despite Rain or Shine’s three-game slump at the tailend of the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup eliminations, coach Caloy Garcia said that he won’t revert to the old ways of former coach Yeng Guiao.

“The difference now is there’s no one to curse at (the players),” he said, talking about the ex-mentor’s ways of toughening up his squad.

Sporting an almost opposite demeanor to the now-NLEX coach, Garcia believes that the Elasto Painters are mature enough to man up to their faults as they seek to make it to the quarterfinals.

“It’s just that we have to make them believe that we have a chance. We have to make them believe that we are still a good team,” he said.

Once carrying a 5-2 card, Rain or Shine suddenly finds itself at a precarious position after losses to San Miguel (107-101 in overtime), Meralco (82-72), and on Sunday, against GlobalPort (117-99).

The string of losses put the Elasto Painters at an even 5-5 slate, needing a win against Alaska on Wednesday to avoid going to a knockout playoff against Blackwater.

Garcia is wishing that the slump would be enough of a reality check for his wards after he said some players failed to submit to the selfless system Rain or Shine is known for.

“Some players are just playing for themselves, not thinking anymore like the old Rain or Shine team who helps each other out. Now, we look disjointed. We know what the problem is and we just have to fix it. The main problem is between them. They’re no longer sharing the ball, and at times, are too gun-shy. We are not as fluid as before,” he said. “We just have to step out and must make a recovery after these losses.”

Garcia is also keeping his hopes up that these struggles will serve as a blessing in disguise to toughen up this new-look Rain or Shine team.

“If we have to get through this to get better, then I’ll take this,” he said. “We still have a chance to make it to the top six, depending how we play against Alaska. I’m more worried of our players on how they react and I hope they can step out of their shadows and talk to themselves and fix these problems.”