Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia did not make excuses for his team's 96-94 loss to Barangay Ginebra in Game 4 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Garcia said the Gin Kings simply made the shots that mattered most down the stretch. Rain or Shine, on the other hand, struggled to convert from the perimeter.
"It's a good game for us. Ginebra deserves it," Garcia said. "They were able to execute in the end and we missed open 3- point shots," said Garcia.
James Yap also lamented the missed chances.
"It was just the breaks of the game," Yap said in Filipino. "We had a lot of opportunities. We just failed to convert. But that's part of basketball."
The two-time MVP himself missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes. But Yap knows his shots won't always fall as they did in Game 2 when he connected on a long 3-pointer to seal the win.
Rain or Shine, the top team after the elimination round, won't go home empty-handed. Garcia said there's a lesson they can learn from this loss.
"It speaks about our character. It's hard to play Ginebra in a series but it's also a good learning point of our team. It is always good to play against them because you get to learn a lot of things," he said. "They got the best tactician right now in coach Tim [Cone]. We gave them a battle. ... We just have to learn how to get over that hump."
The Elasto Painters will regroup and rest before returning for season-ending Governors' Cup.
"My players will take a rest first," Garcia said in Filipino. "But it's probably gonna be a short break."
Yap, who has yet to reach the finals since being traded to Rain or Shine from Grand Slam winner Magnolia, is keeping his fingers crossed they will make it next conference.
"The team is doing well. We were No. 1 in the elimination round. Maybe it's not yet our time to be in the finals," Yap said. "But we learned a lot here and we hope to bring it next conference. It's not yet our time to enter the finals. But maybe next conference will be our time."