TURNOVERS down the stretch hurt Rain or Shine the most as it fell short of pulling an upset over San Miguel Beer in the opener of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series Saturday.
That was not lost on coach Caloy Garcia as the Elasto Painters dropped a 111-105 loss to the Beermen, who didn’t take control of Game One at the Smart Araneta Coliseum until the end of the third period.
“It’s just turnovers,” said the Rain or Shine mentor. “Yung sa dulo kasi, I don’t want to say inexperience, but I think we just made mistakes that a normal player will do.
“I told them we just have to correct on that.”
Although both teams had 21 points off turnovers, the Elasto Painters had more errors, 18-13, none more crucial than the double dribble violation called on Rey Nambatac coming off a timeout in the final 52 seconds and the team trailing by six.
With Game 2 immediately set Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena, Garcia has no time to ponder about the loss.
He’d rather take on the positives especially with the Elasto Painters dominating the first half that saw them race to a 20-7 lead in the opening quarter.
“I think we did a good job today, but they came out with the win,” said Garcia.
“But still, I remain positive that we can try to at least pull one off and then let’s see after that.”
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