GABE Norwood admitted he let Rain or Shine down following his two missed free throws in the dying seconds of a sorry 101-98 loss to TnT Katropa in the PBA Governors Cup on Wednesday night.
The Elasto Painters trailed by three with 2.5 seconds left when Jayson Castro was whistled for a deliberate foul on Norwood, which meant two free throws and the final possession for Rain or Shine.
But to the horror of those at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Norwood missed both foul shots that put more pressure on the Elasto Painters.
The Fil-Am guard later said the blame was on him.
" I didn't help the team when it needed it most," said Norwood after emerging from the team dugout along with majority of the players almost an hour following the game.
"It's frustrating. It's a bit heavy on my mind."
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Rain or Shine had one last chance to go for a game-tying three-pointer but turned the ball over when Jericho Cruz stepped out of bounds while receiving JR Quinahan's inbound pass.
Norwood didn't bother to say anything to the team inside the dugout.
"What's there to say? Say sorry but that doesn't do anything. They all know I'm going out there to help win the team. They understand me and I understand them pretty well, too," said the longtime Gilas stalwart.
To tell the truth, Norwood said the team's poor free throw shooting was the story of the game after the Elasto Painters shot 59 percent from the foul line (17 of 29) , the last two misses courtesy of him.
Norwood said he'll just try to bounce back in Rain or Shine's next game againta Phoenix on Saturday.
"It's gonna be out of my mind soon," he stressed of his costly misses.
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