Caloy grooms Beau as E-Painters leader

MANILA, Philippines — Rain Or Shine coach Caloy Garcia said yesterday he’s challenging rugged frontliner Beau Belga to take an active leadership role with the squad as the Elasto Painters unravel a new system that puts a premium on ball movement, teamwork and the bigs assuming a larger responsibility on both ends.

Last season, Rain Or Shine posted an overall record of 20-21, finishing sixth in the Philippine Cup with a 6-7 mark, third in the Commissioner’s Cup at 11-6 and 10th in the Governors Cup at 3-8. The third conference was particularly forgettable as the Elasto Painters got off to a lowly 0-4 start, Raymond Almazan sat out the last nine games and Belga missed the last four. The silver lining was Rain Or Shine bowed out with a 107-101 win over NLEX as Chris Tiu erupted for 30 points, Jewel Ponferada fired 13 and Norbert Torres and Dexter Maiquez netted 12 each.

“When we lost Raymond and Beau in the Governors Cup, the rest of our bigs stepped up and began to believe in themselves,” said Garcia. “We won our last game of the season with Chris scoring 30. I tried to talk Chris into playing at least one more conference. I told him our new system fits his game and he’ll have fun. But family is important and we respect Chris’ decision. He’s now in Dubai supporting his brother Charles who’s coaching Mighty Sports but he still texts me after every game.”

Garcia said the team’s trip to Bahrain to play two exhibition games last month was a blessing. “The difference between our start last year from this year is our samahan is better,” he said. “We left for Bahrain right after New Year’s Day with no practice for two days and we played right away. We missed Gabe (Norwood) and Mav (Ahanmisi) in Bahrain but the other guys bonded really well for three days. We got closer and it’s showing in the way we’re playing more efficiently as a team.”

The bonding made it easier for the Elasto Painters to embrace Garcia’s new system. “I think everyone’s enjoying the system,” he said. “The players understand what we’re trying to do. We were too stagnant in the past with the guards trying to create and not too much ball movement. Now, we want our bigs to make reads and not just rely on ballscreens. We want our guards to still create but this time, with ball movement. It’s more of a team game now for us. James (Yap), for instance, is getting more shots and hitting consistently. Of course, James is playing with a high level of motivation. He comes to practice early to do plyos, he’s taking extra care of his body and he wants to set an example by working more. As I’ve told the guys, we won’t beat the tough teams on talent. We just need to be more aggressive and want it more than them. We were outplayed by Blackwater when we lost a few days ago. We were outrebounded. I told the guys if we don’t control the boards, we’re in trouble.”

Garcia said Maiquez was a pleasant surprise in the offseason. “Dexter probably has one of the lowest salaries in the PBA but he uses that as a motivation to work harder than others, to play his role,” he said. “He’s not the biggest guy out there but he takes it as a challenge to play taller than he is. I mix it up with our bigs. Norbert, Beau, Jewel, Raymond and Maiquez get their minutes. Against Ginebra, Maiquez defended (Greg) Slaughter well.”

As for Belga, Garcia said when he was in civvies for the last four games in the previous Governors Cup, his voice was the loudest on the bench. “Beau wants to win and gives it his all every game,” he said. “He’s very vocal. The problem is he’s so loud that even the other team can hear what he’s saying. But I think he can lead our team.” Asked if Belga will ever win the Sportsmanship Award, Garcia laughed and said, “malabo.”

Garcia said he has high hopes for his three newcomers this season – rookies Jvee Mocon, JJay Alejandro and veteran Kris Rosales. “I’ve always liked Kris’ game,” he said. “I saw him playing for Singapore in the ABL and if he can play for us like he did for Singapore, he’ll be tough. With Chris gone, we’re hoping Kris can become our stabilizer as a legit point guard. We never expected to draft Jvee because we figured he wouldn’t be available when we picked so we were targeting either Paul Desiderio or Abu Tratter. But when Jvee opened up, we got him. Right from the first day of practice, he’s been impressive. He comes with JJay at 7 a.m. for our 9 a.m. practice, working extra to get better. He was impressive from our first tuneup against Phoenix. He just needs to be more in control of his game and huwag manggigil. JJay’s talent is undeniable and he shows it in practice. I’ve told him to be patient, to wait his turn because it will come.”

Norwood is Garcia’s special player because he can deliver from five different positions. “He’s our utility,” said Garcia. “Against Blackwater, he took only two attempts in 22 minutes and against San Miguel, he had 15 attempts. I’ve told Gabe to take it if he’s open. The defense is allowing him to shoot and if he makes it, you’ll see the game change.”

Garcia said his goal for the Philippine Cup is to make the semifinals. “It’s difficult because every team has gotten stronger,” he said. “If and when we qualify for the semifinals, then we’ll see how far we can go.”