ANTIPOLO – Mahindra coach Chris Gavina had no choice but to look for the positives as Mahindra suffered a second straight setback, at the hands of Rain or Shine this time, 105-83, on Wednesday night.
Like in their opening loss to GlobalPort, the Floodbuster couldn’t get any rhythm going as they fell into a hole as deep as 49 points in third quarter, before going on a run in the fourth to at least make the score respectable.
“I think the only upside for me from this game is our last twelve minutes where that group of guys that finished that quarter kind of broke that mental barrier where they showed they do belong in the PBA,” Gavina said. “They are capable of being productive.”
Third-string guard Philip Paniamogan sparked the surge, scoring all his 10 points in the final frame where the Floodbuster outscored the E-Painters, 35-13.
Rookies Russel Escoto and Joseph Eriobu and new acquisition Rey Guevarra also contributed in the 20-0 run by scoring six points apiece in the fourth period.
“I give a lot of credit to guys like Phil, Josan (Nimes), Escoto, Eriobu, and Rey,” Gavina said.
The young coach gave special mention of Guevarra, who unlike Gary David, put up a more decent debut with nine points and five boards in 23 minutes.
“Rey, in just one practice, brought a full load of energy and he showed just glimpses of what he is capable of doing heading forward,” Gavina said.
“But half of the game, I don’t want to remember it,” he was quick to add as the Floodbuster shot just 34-percent from the field and dished only five assists overall. “It’s pretty much a blur right now.”
How he wishes his team to play like the Elasto Painters, who looked like a well-oiled machine as always.
“I tip my hat off to ROS,” Gavina said. “They're extremely one cohesive team, they just know one another, there's no doubt on what they do. I give a lot of credit of them making tough shots in our defense and we can’t really stop them.”