PAUL Lee admitted his three missed three-point attempts in the last 25 seconds of Game Five of the PBA Governors Cup Finals will haunt him for a long time, but the Rain or Shine star is convinced the failure will make him stronger in the long run.
“Siguro isa 'yun sa magpapatibay pa sa akin. Mas lalo pa akong magsu-shooting, at mag-work hard para pagdumating yung sitwasyon uli na 'yun, di na sasablay,” Lee said, beaten but unbowed as he emerged from the Rain or Shine dugout after the close loss.
As painful as it was to see the Mixers celebrate a grand slam season at their expense, Lee said the Elasto Painters have nothing to be ashamed of, given the huge fight they showed before going down, 92-89, on Wednesday night inside a packed Big Dome.
“Iyun naman ang plano namin eh. Sinabi ni coach Yeng (Guiao) from start pa lang, ‘I don’t care kung ano mangyayari, basta after the last buzzer, kung manalo or matalo, plan namin is to give our best,'” said the 'Lee-thal Weapon.'
Lee said there will be no finger-pointing for the Rain or Shine team, knowing that all the Painters played their hearts out against a solid Mixers squad that made history as the first to complete a grand slam since Alaska achieved the feat in 1996.
“We don’t blame each other. Masaya pa rin kami kahit di kami nag-champion. Kasi alam namin sa sarili namin, kaya naming sabihin sa mga taong kaharap namin na lumaban kami hanggang dulo,” he said.
The 6-foot Lee said he may never be able to sleep the whole night since he still has a 5 a.m. Thursday flight to catch with the Gilas Pilipinas squad bound for Wuhan, China for the Fiba-Asia Cup.
Still, he said the Gilas stint may help him move on after the Finals heartbreak.
“Another chapter of my life. Kalangan ko na mag-move on, focus na ako sa Gilas ngayon," he said.
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