CHAN CHALLENGES HIMSELF TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE
Coaches always say that they want to end a year with a bang.
But Jeff Chan is no ordinary player, and in the final two games for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, a gut-wrenching 99-95 win over Barako Bull last December 27 and a 101-77 rout over San Mig Super Coffee last Sunday, he literally did what their coaches wanted – he ended the year with a bang.
He had a career second-best 34 points in the Barako Bull win, a 7-of-10 shooting night from beyond the arc, including the game-winning three-pointer with 8.2 seconds to play in the fourth.
“Nagulat ako kasi nung last, si Jervy (Cruz) na-open, tapos si Willie (Miller), nag-full help. Dun ako na-open,” he said.
Though it was a historic night for him that Friday, Chan said he didn’t really chase his career-high 35 points, opting to put the team first before individual statistics.
“Nung first half, feeling ko kaya kong habulin, pero di ko naman pinipilit. Pag yung play na nira-run namin, pag na-open ka, itira mo na. Ganun naman yung sabi ni coach Yeng (Guiao) eh, pag open, tira lang,” said Chan.
He followed it up two days later with a 15-point performance on a 3-of-4 shooting from trifectaville, when rookie Raymond Almazan had his breakout game with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds and where Paul Lee sizzled with 15 points on a 5-of-7 shooting from rainbow country.
“Any game, pwede talagang pumutok yung kahit sino sa amin,” Chan said.
But personally, it is in Chan’s mind to challenge himself to be more aggressive on the offensive end.
“Nasa mindset ko lang na gusto ko umatake ngayon,” he said. “The same way na kailangan namin yung depensa, kailangan talagang umatake para gumana yung opensa namin.” (RLeongson)
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