Washington shrugs off early struggles, delivers late for ROS

Jay Washington. PBA IMAGES

ANTIPOLO — Jay Washington couldn’t get anything going in the first half but it was an entirely different story when it mattered most.

Washington hit the game’s biggest baskets to secure Rain or Shine’s third straight victory with a 95-88 win over Blackwater on Sunday in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

But for the 12-year veteran, it’s just a matter of doing his role whenever he gets an opportunity.

“It was pretty good timing. I’m just happy to get the win, help the guys out, and help the team,” Washington, whose clutch 3-pointers came in the final two minutes and 41 seconds, said. “I didn’t play a lot of minutes but the minutes that I was out there, I just try to be productive.”

He truly made the most of his 14 minutes on the court, posting six points, six rebounds, two assists, and an emphatic block on Elite import Greg Smith late in the fourth quarter.

Washington shared that with a conference under his belt with the Elasto Painters, he, alongside James Yap, are now playing with more confidence.

“I think we both feel a lot more comfortable now with our new team. Just being around the guys, having more time going through a conference with them is really a big help. It’s really a feeling out process last conference. As much as we wanted to contribute and help everybody win, it was still our chemistry. It doesn’t happen overnight,” he said.

Though it’s still too early to tell if Washington and Yap are indeed in sync with this Rain or Shine core, the 3-0 record is what it is and the veteran forward is keeping his optimism on a high as he hopes to have learned from last conference’s miscues and be able to defend the Elasto Painters’ Commissioner’s Cup title.

“Everybody felt that we should have been in a better situation last conference but that’s the way it happens. We learned from it and hopefully don’t let it happen again,” he said. “Hopefully, we can get them back to where they were in that championship form.”