WHILE teams are complaining about the way officiating has gone so far in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, Rain or Shine star player Paul Lee stressed the Elasto Painters `have been there and done that.’
No wonder, the Welbest franchise is currently in good standing in their best-of-seven series against the San Mig Coffee Mixers, as it only needs to win two more games to make the All-Filipino Cup Finals for the very first time.
“Hindi na kami nagpapa-apekto sa pito ng referees, masisira lang diskarte namin,” said the reigning Rookie of the Year, who himself had been at the receiving end of tough plays in the league.
Lee’s words of wisdom came in the midst of the complaints made by San Mig stars James Yap, Marc Pingris, and Peter June Simon in the aftermath of the Mixers’ 98-72 loss to the Elasto Painters on Christmas Day, a setback which they attributed to inconsistent officiating.
The Rain or Shine sophomore guard recalled how coach Yeng Guiao lifted up the team spirit after a sorry 82-106 Game 2 loss.
“Talagang sinabi ni coach sa amin nun na natalo kami hindi sa tawag ng mga referees, natalo kami kasi nagpa-apekto kami. Kaya todo bawi talaga kami nung Game 3”, said Lee, who himself had a dismal performance in Game 2.
While the 23-year-old pride of Tondo said the Mixers should learn to be stronger from the experience, he also wished their woes would extend all the way to Game 4 on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Down ang morale nila (Mixers) dahil tinambakan namin sila. Kaya dun kami aatake,” he said. “Mas magiging agresibo pa kami kasi alam namin mas madali silang ma-frustrate ngayon.”
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