Nick Demusis. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Despite having played in nearly two PBA seasons, it was only on Sunday night that Rain or Shine’s Nick Demusis scored twin digits.
The scrappy guard had 12 points in the breakthrough 122-117 win over Blackwater that helped snap the club’s four-game slump in the Governors’ Cup.
“You know, I think it’s just the trust that coach (Yeng Guiao) has for all of us. Every day, he says, every single one of my players can shoot the ball. I know you all can score. So just instilling that confidence from the first guy down to the last guy in the rotation? I think that helps us a lot in this first win,” Demusis told reporters.
His 12 points were nothing to scoff at as they were key for the Painters who found themselves down by double digits twice in the duel against Blackwater. Demusis is one of the four locals who played splendidly and complemented debuting import Greg Smith II.
Before Sunday’s win, the 31-year-old from Hawaii’s finest output was nine points. He did that thrice throughout his young career that includes a stint with the Phoenix franchise.
Demusis is glad to have finally gotten over a scoring hump, but he’s not that high about the feat.
And for a good reason.
“You know, honestly, I want to focus on my defense. As you guys know, since I came into the PBA, if I can do my job on defense, the offense—or whatever comes—is a plus,” he said.
“Hopefully, I could keep it that way but I still wanted to be known as defense-first,” he added. “Offense will come.”