EVEN if he’s not around, import Jaylen Johnson made sure to have get his message across the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Johnson offered words of encouragement to the entire team prior to its PBA Commissioner’s Cup game against Meralco, and the effort appeared to have rubbed off as the Elasto Painters proceeded to deal the Bolts their first loss in the conference, 109-102, Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
READ: All-Filipino Rain or Shine pulls off stunning win over Meralco
Coach Yeng Guiao disclosed how the 6-foot-9 import reached out to them before the game which he missed as he served out the one-game suspension slapped on him for fighting with TNT’s Glenn Khobuntin last week.
“He messaged all the guys right before the game. He messaged them in our group chat,” said the Rain or Shine mentor.
“He told them to fight it out and win this game.”
The 32-year-old Johnson averaged 31.0 points and 16.5 rebounds in two previous games with Rain or Shine, solid numbers which the team obviously missed against the Bolts.
His teammates, however, made sure to cover for him.
Felix Lemetti scored a career second-best of 23 points including 10 in the final quarter, Adrian Nocum added 17, Caelan Tiongson and Jhonard Clarito chipped in with 16 and 15 respectively, while rookie Christian Manaytay had 12 as Rain or Shine kept its immaculate record at 3-0 for the solo lead.
Guiao later said Rain or Shine offered the game for their well-loved import.
“We wanted to just offer up the effort to Jaylen. We knew he wanted to play and help us out,” said Guiao.
The feeling was actually mutual.
“He said he’ll be supporting us while eating his popcorn,” Guiao added in jest.
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