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Mike Tolomia waited for his turn and his patience paid off on Friday.
After playing sparingly in Rain or Shine’s last four games, the rookie stepped out of the veterans’ shadows and unleashed a career-best 14 points, all of which came in the second half, to help the Elasto Painters blast the Blackwater Elite in a playoff for the last quarterfinals slot.
“Coach always reminds me to be ready. He tells me in practice to do extra shooting because he don’t know when he will pull me from the bench. Now, he gave me a chance to play and I believe I was ready,” Tolomia said.
Tolomia averaged 6.7 points in 13 minutes in Rain or Shine’s first seven games before Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia decided to use him sparingly in the team’s next four games, all of which ended in losses.
He scored nine points in only 13 minutes through that stretch, and didn’t even hit the court in the E-Painters’ losses to Meralco and Alaska.
But despite his lack of playing time, Tolomia never felt discouraged.
“My confidence remains the same. I told myself that if I play, I’ll be aggressive. I won’t change my game at all.”
Tolomia said the Painters’ biggest motivation against the Beermen is they lost to them in overtime during the elimination round last month.
“Our loss to them is definitely a motivation for us. We were only a one possession to secure for us to win. I think, that will be valuable for us for that game on Sunday.”