Paul Lee admits baiting Belga to retaliate, but ex-RoS teammate not biting - yet
DESPITE being at the constant end of Rain or Shine’s physical plays, Paul Lee is having a blast going up against his former teammates in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.
Take Tuesday night’s Game 3 for example.
Twice, Lee was bumped hard by Maverick Ahanmisi and Beau Belga but simply shrugged off both incident.
The Magnolia guard collided knee to knee with Ahanmisi early in the first half of the game that left Lee sprawled in pain on the Smart Araneta Coliseum floor for a few minutes.
He later described the collision as ‘part of the game.’
“OK lang. Another bukol,” said Lee, who emerged from the dugout following the Hotshots’ 85-74 win with both knees wrapped in ice.
The clash with Belga left Lee smiling from ear to ear.
The two were involved in a little bit of pushing and shoving after Lee tried to fight a screen provided by the burly Rain or Shine big man.
“You know Beau,” he said of Belga, with whom he won two championships while still with the Welbest franchise.
He was actually trying to bait Belga to do it again as the Elasto Painters were already in penalty situation.
“Sayang hindi niya inulit e, penalty na (sila), hindi tuloy ako naka-free throw,” he said. “Inaabangan ko pero alam niya yata na penalty na sila, so smart move.”
Lee also played smart the rest of the game, scoring 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists in helping the Hotshots score their breakthrough win in the best-of-seven series.