FOR shooters like Deo Cuajao, all he truly needs to get going is to see one of his shots find the bottom of the net.
So when he hit his first three-pointer of the game at the 10:06 mark of the third quarter to pull Rain or Shine within 10, 63-53, he knew he had to make the most out of it.
And make the most of it he did as fired 13 in that quarter — making all three of his attempts from downtown while adding one four-pointer to boot as he and Caelan Tiongson powered the third-quarter comeback which allowed Rain or Shine to complete a 124-120 win over Converge in Game 1 of the PBA Governors Cup quarterfinals.
READ: Rain or Shine roars back to take Game One from Converge
He finished with 15 points on an efficient 5-of-8 clip and +16 on his plus/minus metrics in the win.
“Siyempre, sa unang [tira] palang,” Cuajao responded when asked when he started to feel that he was already going to get going.
“Kumpyansa na e. Parang magaan. Di na tight. Kumpyansa na.”
Such response is on brand with how coach Yeng Guiao described his rookie — brazen and fearless.
“Makapal talaga mukha niyan e, nung nasa NCAA pa yan, bago pa namin siya kinuha makapal na mukha niyan,” Guiao stated.
The rookie out of Letran shared that his big third quarter is also his way of atoning after struggling to get his rhythm in the past two games for Rain or Shine.
Cuajao shot only a combined 2-of-11 from downtown for the Elasto Painters in their last two matches to close out the elimination round, a far cry from his performance early in the conference where he cemented himself as the Elasto Painters’ resident sharpshooter.
Teams have started to take notice of him, and he knows that it’s up to him to adjust.
“Parang bounce back nalang din sa sarili ko kasi the past three games talagang hindi ako maka-shoot talaga e. Kanina, nung na-shoot yung una ko, sabil ko tuloy tuloy na’to, kumpyansa nalang to,” Cuajao shared.
“Hinanapan ko lang ng paraan. Parang nung ginagawa ko lang din nung college, yung mga hard close-outs kumbaga hinahanapan ko nalang [ng counter], ineensayo ko lang yung mga counter ko sa ganun.”
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.
