RAIN or Shine gunner Jeff Chan hopes he could sustain his endgame burst in Game One for the rest of the PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Mig.
The 6-foot-2 shooting guard struggled in the series opener but came alive in the homestretch to help lift the Elasto Painters to a thrilling 83-80 win over the Mixers on Friday night.
The former Far Eastern University stalwart finished with just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field after opting to play defense and served as decoy to set up scoring options for his teammates.
But when called upon to deliver late in the game, Chan did.
His back-to-back three-pointers erased a four-point San Mig lead as it propelled the Elasto Painters back on top, 78-76,paving the way for the stirring finish that saw teammate Paul Lee come through with the game-winning bank shot in the dying seconds.
"Kailangan mag-contribute talaga, kahit na medyo masama yung start ko. I think naka-tatlong misses ako,” Chan recalled. “Eh siyempre, malaking bagay yun (back-to-back three-point conversions)."
The Gilas Pilipinas mainstay said he waited for the right time to strike for Rain or Shine.
"Siguro binabasa ko lang yung defense at saka nung start, mas focused ako sa pasa-pasa, drive ako then assist diyan. Pero I know magsa-sag din sila (Mixers) eh so later, tinirahan ko rin sila," he said.
While the native of Bacolod City remains as the team's main scoring option, he said he’s still committed to playing defense against a talent and veteran-loaded San Mig side in the best-of-seven title series.
"Every game siyempre, both teams magko-concentrate sa defense iyan eh. Alam naman natin, defense wins championship and sino mang team na maka-execute ng best din sa offense, yun ang mananalo," said Chan, who turned 30 last Tuesday.
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