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Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao. PBA Images
MANILA – The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters showed they can win even without their import Jaylen Johnson, who is serving a one-game suspension after a scuffle with TNT Tropang 5G's Glenn Khobuntin.
Despite having to go all-Filipino, the Elasto Painters still managed to defeat the Meralco Bolts, 109-102, on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Ahead of the game, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao reminded his wards to not dwell on Johnson's absence and focus on keeping their intensity on the court.
READ: PBA: Johnson-less Rain or Shine fends off Meralco to stay spotless
"We had to be in the proper mindset coming into this game. We told the guys we were just not going to go through the motions. We had that intention of still winning. Our game plan was to stick close. Just stay close. Try not to give them a good lead or a lead which we cannot overcome. And we did," he said during the post-game press conference.
Guiao admitted that they were coming into the match with tempered expectations, given they were facing a full-force Meralco team with import.
"We expected that just trying to hang by their coattails in the fourth quarter could give us a chance to win. Unexpected that we were in the lead for the most part. But again, it's the psychology involved when you're playing without an import. I guess that goes for us and against Meralco," he shared.
The Rain or Shine head coach said this mindset was one of the keys to the getting the win over Meralco and staying undefeated.
"So psychologically we had the upper hand playing with nothing to lose actually and expectations going against us winning the game. So ang laking psychological effect nun. And the guys were just playing as hard as they can. It's sheer toughness. We played with a lot of toughness," Guiao said.
Felix Lemetti led the all-local squad with 23 points, Adrian Nocum added 17 markers, while Caelan Tiongson contributed 16 points.
Jhonard Clarito pitched in 15 markers and nine rebounds, while rookie Christian Manaytay scored 12 points.
"There were times in the game where parang bibigay na pero nakakabawi pa rin. So sign of maturity. Also everybody who got fielded in made a contribution. Even our rookies we tried them a little bit. I know we're trying to get their feet wet. Just sheer effort, sheer determination. Maybe we just wanted to win the game a little bit more than Meralco," he added.
READ: PBA: Jaylen Johnson apologizes for fistfight with Glenn Khobuntin — 'It won't happen again'
When asked if the Elasto Painters would play the same with Johnson in the fold, Guiao said he's been seeing a similar level of intensity during practice.
"That's exactly the psychology I was talking about. Maybe if Jalen was there we would not have been this aggressive or this intense. But I've been seeing that quality in the guys even in practice. They're very competitive. They're having fun but at the same time they're very competitive. So we're able to translate that into the game," he said.
Guiao said Johnson still made his presence felt among his teammates even if he would not be physically present during the game.
"Of course, he was always in practice. He messaged all the guys right before the game. He messaged them in our group chat. Just telling them to fight it out and win this game. He'll be supporting us," he shared.
"We wanted to just offer up the effort to Jaylen, to JJ. We knew he wanted to play this and help us out but baka hindi na namin siya kailangang pawiin na namin," Guiao jokingly said.
With the victory, Rain or Shine remains one of two undefeated teams so far in the PBA 50 Commissioner's Cup.
The Elasto Painters will return to action on Tuesday, when they face the Blackwater Bossing at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.