JHONARD Clarito was left to rue his missed couple of charities in the endgame of Rain or Shine's stinging defeat to NLEX.
READ: Bahio's last-gasp jumper off Bolick assist lifts NLEX past ROS
With the two teams all even at 90 with 18.4 seconds left, Clarito earned two free throws after he was fouled while attempting a fastbreak layup caused by a Robert Bolick turnover on the previous play.
But Clarito, a reliable free throw shooter at 82-percent, missed both shots that would have given the Elasto Painters the lead.
Instead, it was the Road Warriors who grabbed the advantage and, ultimately, the victory when JB Bahio buried a baseline jumper right in front of Clarito.
Clarito was consoled by Beau Belga at the final buzzer, and was teary-eyed when he faced mediamen after emerging from the Ninoy Aquino Stadium dugout following the defeat.
“Hindi talaga sumang-ayon sa amin yung pagkakataon nung sumablay yung free throw,’’ he said, talking about the only two free throws he took in the game.
“Parang kinabahan ba ako o kung ano nasa isip ko. Basta ang akin, iniisip ko pumasok eh. Wala, sumablay.”
No excuses from Jhonard
Prior to being awarded two free throws, Clarito actually banged on the stanchion after his layup attempt, and was down on the floor for a few moments.
The RoS forward later felt he got up a little too early, instead of taking his time to get up.
“Ang sabi nga ni kuya Beau sa akin, umupo muna ako sa ilalim ng ring. Pahinga muna ako nang matagal-tagal. Yun ang sabi niya sa akin," he recalled.
"Ako naman, excited ako mag-free throw kaya tumayo ako. Sa sobrang excited, yung kalabasan, nagmintis. Yun yung maling nagawa ko doon."
Still, Clarito refused to make that as an excuse.
“Tumama doon sa poste ng ring. Buti nga may foam, pero bumaon pa rin. Medyo masakit eh. May tama na ito nung (game vs.) Magnolia, nung bumagsak ako," he said.
"Pero hindi naman (nakaapekto yun). Focus lang ako sa game kanina.”
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