RAIN or Shine had its worst shooting output of the conference in its Game 3 loss in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup quarterfinals last Tuesday.
Even so, head coach Yeng Guiao encouraged his team not to be bothered by their woes as the Elasto Painters look to stay alive in the best-of-five series against Converge on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters shot only 35 percent from the field after going for 29-of-84, unlike their elimination round numbers where they were at 47 percent. Rain or Shine went 16-of-40 (40 percent) from twos and 13-of-44 (30 percent) from threes and fours, well below its norm.
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Rain or Shine lost by 16 points to Converge, 105-89, and is on the verge of elimination after Game 3.
Adrian Nocum and Luis Villegas were among those who misfired from the outside.
After going for 7-of-8 from threes in the first two games, Nocum missed all three of his shots from the same distance.
Villegas was a poor 1-of-7 from threes after going 4-of-8 during the first two games of the quarterfinals.
Guiao is unaffected by the way Rain or Shine missed its shots, noting that some of them are open shots.
“Nangyayari din ‘yun. Acceptable ‘yun,” said Guiao on the shooting struggles in Game 3.. “Kahit si Luis, ganun din. May mga marami siyang open looks na hindi pumasok.
“But the worst thing na puwede mong gawin doon is to discourage them from shooting. Kasi kung open ka, shooter ka, kung pina-practice mo ‘yung tira na ‘yun, and they are good looks, you are making the right decision, kailangan mo talaga itira. Ganun lang naman ‘yung philosophy namin."
Rain or Shine definitely needs a better shooting day come Game 4 with the Elasto Painters looking to extend the series into a sudden death on Sunday at the Ynares Center.
“May araw na tatama siya talaga. May araw na hindi. Pero mas mahihirapan kang makuha ‘yung rhythm mo kapag pina-pass up mo ‘yung mga open looks. Walang regrets. ‘Yung mga tinira nila, karamihan doon, pang-tira naman,” said Guiao.
“The series is not over. We (had) two days to prepare. So tignan natin kung anong mangyayari sa Friday."
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