STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE
Wayne Chism recording 30 points and 15 rebounds speaks volumes on how well the 6-foot-8 forward has found his bearings with Rain or Shine.
“It was a good game for me finally,” Chism said, minutes after the Elasto Painters trumped Ginebra in overtime, 105-101. “Coach talked to me and said we need more on offense instead of just me creating and passing to my teammates. And when it’s going down, I just had to step up to the plate and create for the team and I did a good job of that tonight.”
Chism also credited the talk he had with Guiao during the Holy Week break, where the feisty mentor plotted his gameplan with his reinforcement.
“I took (the talk) more as a motivation,” he said. “He told me his three keys and what he wanted me to do. I accomplished those three keys by playing good defense. The most important thing is I stayed out of fouls this game. And the third thing is being aggressive on the offensive end, and I think I did a good job on that too.”
The win gave Rain or Shine the fourth-seed and the right to face Meralco in a best-of-three quarterfinals series set to start on Monday.
Though the QF opener will be played barely 22 hours after their game against the Kings, Chism said he will be ready when the buzzer sounds signaling the start of their game against the Bolts.
“I’m very used to that. It sounds like the NCAA tournament to me,” Chism said, who played for the University of Tennessee and even led the Volunteers to their first Elite Eight appearance in 2010.
He added, “I’ve adjusted pretty well. I figured it out already and I think I’m doing a good job. We bounced back tonight and we just have to try to keep on going.” (RL)
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