Rain or Shine rookie Felix Lemetti impressed as he scored a conference-high 28 points, including the last four freebies which could have given his squad the win had San Miguel main man June Mar Fajardo not gotten in the way.
“Heartbroken.”
This was how Rain or Shine rookie Felix Lemetti described how he felt as he watched June Mar Fajardo nail the buzzer-beating game-winner in San Miguel’s pulsating 113-112 escape over the Elasto Painters on Thursday, Sept. 5.
Before that play, Rain or Shine thought it already had the game in the bag after Lemetti canned four-pressure packed free throws to snatch the lead, 112-111.
[WATCH: San Miguel rides June Mar Fajardo's cold-blooded buzzer-beater to steal the victory from Rain or Shine | PBA Highlights]
But three seconds were enough for the Beermen to quickly bring the ball down and set up Fajardo for the cold-blooded jumper at the buzzer.
“Heartbroken; after coming back like that as a team. We came back, made some stops, made some big shots, and then, losing that way, it’s tough,” said Lemetti, whose team stumbled to its first loss after a red-hot 4-0 start.
This spoiled a conference-high 28-point performance from Lemetti, who fired 14 points in the fourth period of the highly charged battle against the mighty Beermen.
Despite the loss, Rain or Shine head caoch Yeng Guiao was pleased with how Lemetti and the Elasto Painters fared.
“You can’t say enough about how good Felix is. Gumaganda ang laro niya every game. Of course, maybe this is a really good game. Hindi naman natin ini-expect na kaya niyang gawin every game 'yan. Pero ang importante, you know you have a solid option at the point guard position,” said Guiao.
“Steady, hindi nagpa-panic, can play under pressure. To think that this is just his fifth game in the Philippines. Hindi siya pamilyar sa mga players. Ang laki pa ng upside nIya.”
[RELATED STORY: PBA: June Mar Fajardo hits game-winner at the buzzer as San Miguel taints Rain or Shine's spotless record]
There was really nothing to be ashamed of for Lemetti and the rest of the hard-fighting Rain or Shine. After all, games such as this augurs well for the young team looking to get better by the day.
“I think it’s good to play such a good team like San Miguel. We’re going to have to see them, hopefully, if we make a run in the playoffs,” Lemetti said.
“Just getting used to guarding June Mar, their import (Jordan Adams), just getting that first taste of it. And now, hopefully, we can pratice it and get better as a team, as a whole," he added.