RAIN or Shine was surprised, but so was Terrafirma Dyip upon being informed that import Greg Smith II won’t be suiting up for the Elasto Painters in their PBA Governors' Cup face-off on Thursday.
Smith was prevented from playing in the absence of a letter of clearance from his former team in the Dominican Republic, as relayed by Fiba to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
READ: Santillan winner saves day for Rain or Shine
Terrafirma coach Johnedel Cardel admitted the team was taken aback by suddenly facing a team without an import.
“Nagulat din kami. Mas gusto ko pa nga sana may import sila, e,” he said following a close 120-118 loss to the Elasto Painters. “Pero ganun talaga. Siyempre they (Elasto Painters) will come aggressive, lahat yan.”
Playing with a huge sense of urgency, Rain or Shine controlled the tempo and forced Terrafirma to play catch-up for the most part.
Dyip import Jordan Williams also failed to find his touch in the first half, scoring just three points, and didn’t get into a rhythm until the final two quarters.
Cardel said the Dyip became a bit complacent.
“Sayang. If they realized early in the third quarter na kaya namin, siguro kami ang lamang ng walo,” said Cardel, whose Dyip trailed, 114-106, with 2:31 to play. "Or sila ang hahabol pero kami ang mananalo. Pero reverse, e.”
It didn’t help the Dyip any that they got affected by the calls of referees early on.
“Nagpa-apekto kasi yung mga players ko sa mga calls. Pero ganun talaga, calls are calls,” said Cardel.
“Sabi ko nga just leave the calls to the coaches, just play your game and use your head. We realized it just in the fourth quarter. But yun nga, it’s too late. Naisahan kami. It’s my fault.”
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