ANGAS NG TUNDO CATCHES FIRE
Rain or Shine fans were worried about their team’s long-range artillery with Jeff Chan sitting out Game 2 of the Elasto Painters’ semifinals clash against Meralco.
Paul Lee made sure they had nothing to worry about.
On Sunday, the Tondo-bred dribbler anchored a scintillating shooting night for Rain or Shine as it went up 2-0 in the best-of-five series courtesy of a 92-82 victory.
Lee was responsible for five of the E-Painters’ league season-high 19 total three-pointers out of the 38 they attempted, translating to a 50-percent field goal percentage, and good for second most treys made by the franchise.
“Siguro yun ang gameplan ng Meralco kasi pag nasa post yung bola, magdo-double right away eh. Tina-try lang namin i-extra pass yung bola until makahanap kami ng open shots. Ang maganda lang is kumo-connect kami,” Lee said.
The national team standout finished with 23 points, four rebounds, and three assists to put Rain or Shine on the brink of winning the series and the right to punch the first ticket to the Finals of the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
But despite owning the 2-0 series lead, there are still things that Lee sees which Rain or Shine needs to improve to close out the semifinal duel.
“Flat yung start namin. Marami silang nakuhang offensive rebounds at may turnovers kami na nakuha nila agad as transition points kaya sila nakalamang,” he said, as the E-Painters had to battle back from being down by as big as 14. “Nung halftime, sabi lang ni coach na kailangan yung depensa namin, madiin pa lalo, at nakakuha din kami ng transition points na ginawa namin ng Game 1.”
And Lee said that they won’t be blinded by the results of their previous games.
“Di pa rin kami kumpyansa kasi may piyesa ang Meralco. Alam namin na magba-bounce back sila. Kung di kami umayos, baka natalo kami this game. Yun ang iiwasan namin sa Game 3. Kailangan i-match namin yung energy nila from the start.” (RL)
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