Rain or Shine Coach Chris Gavina and Rich Alvarez. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Rain or Shine won’t be taking it easy in the holiday break as head coach Chris Gavina wants his team to come back stronger in the new year.
The Elasto Painters ended their 2021 schedule on two straight losses and their first game back will be against third seed NLEX on January 6.
“There’s no break for me. We’re on a two-game losing streak. But I did tell our guys that we have practice the next two days and we got a short little break,” said Gavina as per the league’s official website.
“But I told them don’t come back zero as we’re going up against a hungry NLEX team coming off a loss also.”
The Elasto Painters are coming off a gut-wrenching 95-92 loss to TNT on December 26 in their final game of the calendar year while the Road Warriors got their 4-0 start tarnished when they lost to Phoenix, 102-93, on Christmas Day.
Gavina added that their first game of 2022 against NLEX, which holds a 4-1 record, would be a “test of will” as the long break coupled with the holidays would give players a leeway on relaxing for a bit.
“It’s gonna really come down as to who kept themselves in better shape, more sharp after the break,” said Gavina as his team sits with a 2-3 record at the ninth seed.