RAIN or Shine coach Yeng Guiao admitted they are sorely missing Felix Lemetti and his ability to fuel their transition game that has been one of the strengths of the Elasto Painters in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup.
Lemetti has been ruled out of the conference after being diagnosed with a partial ACL tear suffered in a game against Terrafirma when Dyip import Mubashar Ali landed on his right knee while attempting to block Lemetti's lay-up.
On Sunday, Rain or Shine only had nine fastbreak points against Barangay Ginebra, their lowest output of the conference.
“Of course, we miss Felix,” said Guiao. “Pero tanggap na namin yun. You have to move forward from that. You have to accept that and embrace that and find ways to mitigate and compensate for that.”
“Yun ang pagtatrabahuan namin. Pero nangyayari talaga yan. Merong in the course of the conference going through the playoffs, injuries can happen,” said Guiao.
The Ginebra tussle was already the fourth game that Lemetti missed since getting hurt, with three of those matches resulting in losses.
Guiao said it was unfortunate that Lemetti got hurt at a time when he was on a rise, averaging 11.3 points and 3.0 assists before the injury. He was also fresh from recovering from a fractured hand late last season.
“Sayang lang. Actually, Felix got injured again at a time when Felix's game was peaking. Yun yung nawala sa amin, plus the pace that he gives us, and the defense and the quickness. But we have to look for that somewhere else.
Although Rain or Shine has lost top draft pick Jun Roque to a season-ending ACL tear, the team still has two rookies in Guiao's rotation in former La Salle guard Josh David and Vince Cuajao.
"Baka may makapuno nun kaya ginagamit namin mga rookies namin,” Guiao said.
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