ONE-GAME MINDSET FOR BIG BEAU
Some people say history repeats itself, but when you’re in the bad side of that history, you have no choice but to learn from your mistakes and correct them once you’re faced with the same situation again.
And that is what Rain or Shine did Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena, thumping GlobalPort, 106-96, to barge into the semifinals of the 2014 PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup.
With the Batang Pier roaring back to cut the E-Painters’ lead to two, 98-96, big Beau Belga drilled in a three-pointer with 40.5 ticks to play, giving Rain or Shine much needed breathing room to take the game for good.
“Naghe-hesitate pa nga akong itira eh,” he said. “Ilang beses na kong tumira ng crucial, walang nashu-shoot.”
Belga added, “Nakita kong libre ako, eh kung hindi ko ititira, magagalit lang si coach, kaya tinira ko na. Nakita ko naman na nakalinya sa ring eh, kaya sabi ko na lang sana ma-shoot. Ayun, na-tsambahan naman.”
The Gilas reserve had 17 points in 17 minutes off the bench, to go with his six rebounds and four steals.
Rain or Shine wanted nothing less than a win to erase the stigma of a bitter recent past, when the E-Painters lost to Ginebra the last time they owned a twice-to-beat advantage in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup.
“Sinet lang namin yung goals namin na ngayon lang yung laro. Wala nang do-or-die, wala nang Saturday game,” Belga said. “Talagang sinabi namin sa sarili namin na ngayon lang. Pag nagkaganun, kumbaga, tabla na lang eh. Wala na kaming advantage. So yung advantage lang talaga namin ay yung sa game ngayon.”
Missing Jeff Chan for the game due to a throat infection, Belga and the rest of the E-Painters knew they just had to step up without their main gunner. And that’s exactly what they did, as they now shift their focus to the challenge ahead – the semifinals.
“Kung sino man yung papalarin na makaharap namin, dun kami,” Belga said. “Kami naman yung tipo ng team na kahit sino ang itapat, malakas man o mahina, di kami magba-back down. Ready lang kami.” (RL)
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