BEAU Belga took the blame for Rain or Shine’s 107-101 overtime loss to San Miguel Beer on Friday night, saying his late turnover in regulation proved crucial and turned the game around.
With the E-Painters up by two, 96-94, Belga received an inbound pass off a timeout but failed to protect the leather which Chris Ross stole with four seconds left, setting the stage for Alex Cabagnot’s jumper that dragged the game into an extra period.
“Unang una, ako sa sarili ko, inaamin ko kasalanan ko,” Belga admitted. “Inaantay ko nalang fumoul sila. ‘Di ko talaga expected na susundot si Chris Ross sa likod, nagulat nalang ako lumusot sa tagiliran ko.
“Plus yung tinira nung Cabagnot, challenged naman ni Jeff (Chan) eh,” he added. “Wala na kaming mahihiling pa.”
[See No playing time, no problem for James Yap]
That put a dampener to what had been a solid night for Belga, who led the E-Painters with 14 points and five boards, and knocked down the triple that put them up, 96-90, before the Beermen fought back.
“(Pero) sabi nga ni coach, wag na kaming magsisihan pa,” Belga said. “Maging lesson nalang namin to. Try naming mag improve. Malay mo, mapaganda pa namin.”
But asked if his turnover proved to be the turning point of the game, derailing their bid to clinch a quarterfinal berth, Belga agreed.
“Oo naman, panalo na kami doon eh,” the veteran enforcer said. “Kung finoul lang ako, di mo alam mangyayari. Basta ako sa sarili ko, di ako makakatulog ngayon, bad trip. Sayang yung spot para sa playoffs. Nasa ’min na, pinakawalan pa.”
“Ano lang, konting kumbaga finishing, kasi nandyan na kami, matagal na kaming magkakasama. Alam na namin gagawin namin,” he added. “Finishing nalang.... Hopefully maging pulido pagdating ng playoffs.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
