ANTIPOLO – Rain or Shine missed the shooting touch and defensive presence of Gian Mamuyac and Leonard Santillan in a 100-105 loss to TNT in the PBA Governors Cup on Friday night at the Ynares Center.
Mamuyac and Santillan are out with sprained ankles.
See Mikey delivers dagger three to complete TNT comeback vs Rain or Shine
“Na-miss namin si Santi tsaka si Mamu. So siguro kung nandiyan sila, I’m not saying we could have won, but maybe we could have competed better in the endgame,” said coach Yeng Guiao.
The Elasto Painters were outscored by the Tropang Giga, 25-16, in the fourth to pull off the come-from-behind win that saw TNT rallied back from as much as an 18-point deficit.
Michael Qualls tried to carry Rain or Shine on his shoulders down the stretch, scoring nine of the 35 points in the fourth quarter, but missed a couple of free throws in the endgame that could have made a difference for the Elasto Painters.
Mamuyac suited up for the team in its 105-87 loss to Meralco Bolts in the opener, scoring 10 points, while Santillan missed his second straight game.
The rookie guard from Ateneo averaged 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in the last Commissioner’s Cup, while Santillan normed 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds.
“But I think they can play in the next game,” said Guiao of the Elasto Painters next game against unbeaten Converge FiberXers Thursday next week.
Despite the sorry loss, the veteran coach was far more satisfied with the way team played compared to its performance against Meralco.
“I think just like the whole team, I’ll take this kind of game anytime from these guys. We can only get better naman,” said Guiao.
“I think it’s still an improvement from our Meralco game where we were not able to compete in the endgame and in the fourth quarter actually. Pero ito naka-compete kami hanggang huli. So it’s still a sign of improvement.”
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