Caloy Garcia. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Coach Caloy Garcia is playing the waiting game anew after Rain or Shine made good use of its twice-to-beat incentive in Sunday’s quarterfinal clash with NorthPort at MOA Arena.
And he’s not sweating it.
“Actually right now, we’re not even thinking about it,” he told reporters after the Elasto Painters’ 91-85 dispatching of Batang Pier. “We still don’t know who we are going to play.”
Garcia said the second seed Rain or Shine is looking to regroup on Tuesday. But there is no telling who their next assignment will be by that time as Magnolia on Monday night forced a deciding Game 3 after whipping Ginebra, 106-77.
“We’ll just probably think of how we played against NorthPort,” Garcia said.
“Just think of how we can still improve, because we know Ginebra and Magnolia are two different types of teams—you have a big team and you have a quick one,” he added.
The Painters, should they face Barangay Ginebra in the semifinal round, will have an opportunity to avenge their Philippine Cup campaign last year, where they were swept in two games.
But Garcia and the Elasto Painters are more likely draw inspiration from exorcising the haunting memories of their 2018 Governors’ Cup bid where they finished first in the eliminations but got knocked out again by the Gin Kings in the semifinal round.
“As of right now, we just want to enjoy this moment,” the soft-spoken mentor said.