THE hunt for a first PBA Philippine Cup championship continues for Paul Lee.
Magnolia’s veteran guard saw his closest shot at winning the All-Filipino title dashed by San Miguel Beer on Wednesday night in Game Seven at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
But Lee isn’t feeling too bad, saying the breaks of the game simply didn’t go the Hotshots’ way as Ian Sangalang and Jio Jalalon missed point-blank shots that could have turned the game around in favor of the sixth-seeded team.
The bungled shot by a wide-open Jalalon underneath the basket with six seconds left proved to be costly for the Hotshots side seeking to win the Philippine Cup crown for the first time since its 2014 grand slam season.
It was Lee who set up Jalalon for that shot after drawing three San Miguel defenders to him as he drove to the basket.
“Two wide-open shots yung nangyari doon. Yung mga tira na yun all conference, kayang i-shoot ni Ian, kayang i-shoot ni Jio,” said Lee, who has won three championships in his PBA career but never an all-Filipino title.
Lee said maybe it’s just not the time yet for Magnolia, winner of last year's Governors' Cup.
“Breaks talaga ng laro yun. Ganun naman, pag nangyari sa iyo yung breaks ng game, puwedeng masaktan ka, puwedeng sumaya ka,” he said.
“This time yung breaks hindi napunta sa amin. Masakit, pero for sure marami kaming natutunan dito.”
The 30-year-old Lee finished with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists as he stayed positive of winning the Philippine Cup in the future.
“Alam ko naman lahat kami gustung-gustong manalo,” he said. “There’s still a lot of opportunity na darating.”
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