Third time’s still no charm for ousted Rain or Shine

MANILA, Philippines — Same team. Same fashion. Same result.

The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters absorbed their third straight loss and a finishing kick to their Philippine Cup campaign at the hands of one team.  

Talking to the press after the game, Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia noted that they also bowed out of contention just like in the first two games.

"I think [in] the end, we had a chance to win the game. But [may] mga mental lapses,” Garcia rued. “[‘Yung] mga talo naman namin sa Ginebra, [boiled down] sa endgame eh."

Just as the Elasto Painters were trying to mount a last-ditch effort to save their conference, Maverick Ahanmisi, Jay Washington and Beau Belga committed successive turnovers that enabled Barangay Ginebra to control the pace of the game.

Belga managed to redeem himself with a long bomb with three minutes left in the game. So did Washington from also the perimeter. But those were the only shots they ended up converting.

Behind LA Tenorio, the Gin Kings pulled away as the clock expired, eventually the formalizing the result.

In the first two games — one that included a triple-overtime thriller in the elimination round last week — Rain or Shine came up short. During their series-opener last Monday, they managed to claw their way back from a 12-point deficit. They cut the Gin Kings’ lead to just six, only to run out of gas in the final minute.

“May mga mental lapses na unforced turnovers, parang kumbaga wala namang pressure, nagtuturnover sila,” Garcia explained. "There was a time that they were being erratic kaso lang, paubos na ako ng timeout so pinadiskarte ko na lang sila.”

But Garcia feels there’s still hope for his wards and his club. After all, it’s only the first conference of the season.

“They made some turnovers but I know them, we learn from it,” the four-year PBA tactician said.  "I just told them, after this conference, hopefully we can play better, especially executing in the end.”