Rain or Shine's Belga credits confidence from coach, teammates for recent scoring surge

MANILA, Philippines -- Beau Belga has been on a scoring tear the past six games for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

On Wednesday, the 37-year-old big man dropped a career-high with 28 points against the NorthPort Batang Pier, guiding the Elasto Painters to their fifth straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup.

He also grabbed 13 rebounds, one shy of his career-high, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.

But in the past six games, including Wednesday’s 115-105 win over the Batang Pier, Belga scored at least 18 points and averaged 22 points a game over that stretch.

Belga attributed his scoring outbursts to the confidence he is being given by Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao and his teammates.

“Every time I suggest something in our plays, [Guiao] adjusts. His confidence, as well as the confidence of my teammates in me [helps] because every time they see me free, they feed me the ball,” the bruising 6-foot-6 slotman told reporters in Filipino.

“From there, my confidence is really boosted, on offense and on defense… Really, this is a complete team effort for us,” he added.

Aside from the double-double, he also recorded seven assists and two steals. He made 12 of his 17 field goals, sinking three of his five 3-pointers.

Belga also emphasized the team’s strength in numbers, saying it is not just one player who is capable of scoring in bunches.

Against the Batang Pier, Jhonard Clarito, Adrian Nocum and Mark Borboran also finished in double figures.

Clarito had 17 points and seven rebounds. Nocum added 16 markers, while Borboran chipped in 12.

“It is not just one guy who is playing better. It’s always like there’s three guys, four guys who finish in double digits and like what coach says, our offense is balanced.”

For his part, Guiao said that he is happy with the way Belga stepped up in the absence of rookie big men Keith Datu and Luis Villegas.

“We are happy that Beau is consistent. He needed to go double-time because we are lacking bigs. Datu and Luis are still unable to play,” the fiery coach stressed.

“Beau is capable of filling in the void. He can contribute a lot to fill in the void, and he is very well capable of doing so,” he added.

Belga and Rain or Shine will try to continue their hot streak as they face the Magnolia Hotshots next on Saturday, April 20, at the Tiaong Convention Center.