Mike Madanly left frustrated as NLEX couldn't complete huge comeback against Rain or Shine 

MIKE Madanly could not help but be frustrated after NLEX’s stunning comeback against Rain or Shine fell short in their PBA Governors’ Cup game on Wednesday night.

The Syrian sharpshooter, who led the Road Warriors’ fightback by scoring 16 of his 20 points in the payoff period, felt he didn’t need to go on a fourth quarter explosion had his team avoided falling into an early hole.

“It’s frustrating,” Madanly said as NLEX went down by as much as 29 points in the third quarter. “We should be more focused and don’t get down (to a deficit) like that.”

“Rain or Shine is a great champion team, so you can’t play them and expect to get back from thirty points down and win,” he added. “It’s very difficult.”

Madanly, though, saw some positives during the comeback, where they mirrored the Elasto Painters’ early hot shooting.

“They were hitting every shot and were unstoppable, but we made it back and played better D and started hitting our shots,” the Asian import said.

In the end, it boiled down to making defensive plays.

“It’s always the same, very small mistakes,” Madanly said. “We were there, but that’s the game. You can’t guarantee anything. It’s about making one stop.”

Still, Madanly believes the Road Warriors have a shot of qualifying in the next round despite getting stuck second to the bottom with a 2-6 win-loss slate.

“We have to play just one game at a time and we can still make it.”