ANDREI Caracut relishes his first PBA playoffs under a normal setup as Rain or Shine battles top seed Bay Area Dragons in the Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
The stint is actually the second playoffs for the sophomore guard although his first was played at the Bacolor bubble in Pampanga when the Elasto Painters also made the quarterfinals during the Philippine Cup.
See Bay Area, Magnolia eye quick route to semis as RoS, Phoenix try to force decider
“Nung sa bubble kasi, iisa lang inuuwian namin. Tapos sila-sila din yung kasama mo,” said Caracut.
The former La Salle player was also a rookie back then, playing in his first PBA conference that obviously made the transition a tough one for him.
Seeded sixth back then, the Elasto Painters were swept by No. 3 Magnolia Hotshots in their best-of-three series.
Rain or Shine faces a daunting task this time as it needed to beat the no.1 seed Dragons twice to advance.
But at least, Caracut said the circumstances are a lot different this time given a better health condition at the moment.
“Mas madali na ngayon, kasi normal na. May mga fans na, ang dami ng nanonood,” noted the 23rd pick of the 2021 draft.
“And ngayon, nakakalabas ka na, nakakapag-extra work ka na. So malaking bagay yun,” the 26-year-old guard added.
The extra work was obvious in Caracut’s last game with the Elasto Painters as he finished with 19 points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range to help the team make the playoffs for the first time after two conferences with its huge win over the Road Warriors.
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