Rain or Shine coach Chris Gavina. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Do-or-die games usually come around during the playoffs, but Rain or Shine treated its opening game in the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup as such.
The Elasto Painters opened their campaign with a comfortable 92-79 win over Blackwater in a game that star guard Rey Nambatac said they treated as a must win.
“We talked inside the dugout that we cannot lose this game because this is a must-win one for us and coach always told us that we should give extra effort to win,” said Nambatac in Filipino Thursday at Ynares Sports Arena.
“First half we couldn’t make a shot because I think we’re still too excited but come second half we managed to recover.”
The Elasto Painters trailed 41-35 at the end of the first half but turned things around in the third outscoring the Bossing 31-12 to take a 66-53 lead heading into the fourth.
Rain or Shine head coach Chris Gavina said that it was imperative for them to win their opener as the league’s condensed schedule doesn’t give them a too big of a leeway to make adjustments.
“We all know that the schedule can change weekly, right now we have two games this week then next week we could have three games,” said Gavina. “Every game is a do-or-die and you can make or break your season in one weekend.”