JEFF Chan deserves a purple heart for his heroic stand in Rain or Shine’s vital PBA Commissioner’s Cup win over Mahindra on Wednesday night.
The Elasto Painters gunner shrugged off the welt under his left eye and scored 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the team to its third straight win, 103-98, even in the absence of ejected coach Yeng Guiao.
“Kailangang naming manalo, e,” he said about the brave stand he did, which he capped by shooting 55 percent from the floor (5 of 9), five rebounds, and two assists in 21 minutes of play.
Chan said he couldn’t remember when he suffered the injury, which left him with a swelling just below his left eye.
Still that didn’t prevent him from taking over at clutch time to bail the Elasto Painters out of danger against a pesky Mahindra side.
His corner trey with 2:20 to go gave Rain or Shine the lead for good, 96-95. He later snared a rebound and then drove coast-to-coast – with Mahindra point guard LA Revilla just trailing behind – for a 102-99 lead in the final 35 seconds.
“Yung bandang huli (na tira ko) medyo blurred na,” Chan said later. “Akala ko nga nabasag yung cheekbone ko kasi parang manhid na siya, e.”
The damage to his face though is not serious enough for him to proceed to the hospital after the game.
“Yelo lang (ang katapat),” said the Gilas Pilipinas shooting guard.
Asked if he has a special bonus from Rain or Shine management following his brave front, Chan smiled and said, ‘pintura daw para kulayan itong (black eye ko).”
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