EXPERIENCE is the best teacher and Rain or Shine is banking on that after yet another semifinal stint that just fell short in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
Coach Yeng Guiao said the Elasto Painters continued to learn as they grow together as a team in the aftermath of their Final Four ouster at the hands of TNT Tropang Giga.
TNT rallied back from a 13-point deficit to frustrate Rain or Shine, 97-92, Friday night to wrap up their best-of-seven series, 4-1, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was the third straight time the Elasto Painters advanced to the semis, but also the third time they failed to make headway in their bid to clinch a first finals berth since 2016.
Guiao though, is still pleased with the way things ended for the franchise as he sees the team getting better moving forward.
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"We will get better, we are getting better," he exclaimed as the Elasto Painters saw their campaign end following the Game 5 loss.
"I'm proud of what we have accomplished. We're happy with the performance of our import (Deon Thompson). Overall, were also satisfied with our performance as a team."
The Elasto Painters may have won just a game in the series, but Guiao believes the final outcome was not a true reflection of how games were closely fought.
Indeed, the winning margin for the entire five-game series stood at 4.8 points as no winning team run away with a double digit margin.
"4-1 yung series pero we felt that every game we played we had a chance to win. Yung five games na yun may pagkakataon na makuha namin yung laro. Breaks lang (talaga)," Guiao pointed out.
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The veteran coach thought, the Tropang Giga emerged as the better team especially in endgame situations.
"Siguro dapat matuto lang kaming maglaro ng endgame. Again I don't want to make it an excuse na bata yung team namin. Hindi na bata yung team namin. Kailangan lang talaga, siguro a little bit more of the mental toughness in trying to close out games," he said.
Guiao is giving the Elasto Painters a well-deserved break and then resume their preparations for the season-ending Philippine Cup that kicks off on April 5.
"All-Filipino na next conference. I think laban ulit. Makikita mo naman na may improvement," he said. "I think lalaban ulit kami, makaka-playoffs ulit kami. We're still looking at ways to improve the team. Magandang i-assess mo yung team based dito sa mga nangyari.
"Kung meron mang paraan para ma-improve pa nila, we will work on those ways to improve the team in the short off-season."(RG)
