Barangay Ginebra San Miguel did everything it could to keep pace with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. But Riley Grigsby and company couldn’t overcome Yeng Guiao’s team, which handed the barangay a 110-99 beatdown for their second loss in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
After the game, Grigsby didn’t hold back as he detailed the team’s multiple mistakes that ultimately led to the loss.
“We turned the ball over a lot tonight, [and] it was a lot of transition points for them,” he rued. “Obviously a lot of turnovers [on our end]. They came out ready to play, we came out slow.”
The 26-year-old American led Ginebra in scoring with 25 points, highlighted by four four-pointers on eight attempts. He added 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Grigsby Highlights Blackwater Game
The loss to Rain or Shine came less than 48 hours after Ginebra beat Blackwater.
Ironically, the former Santa Cruz Warriors G League standout believed that victory helped Ginebra prepare for the “scrappy” and “fast-paced” style of the Elasto Painters.
“I think Blackwater was a great game to prepare for Rain or Shine, they were picking us whole court last game, and we’re just getting ready for this game,” said Grigsby. “It was my first time playing Rain or Shine. We come in prepared, we’ve seen that they are scrappy [and] fast-paced, getting up and down, pressure.”
Despite that preparation, Ginebra couldn’t do much to counter Rain or Shine. Grigsby and his teammates couldn’t stop the Elasto Painters from scoring. Neither could they consistently break down the Rain or Shine defense. For Grigsby, it was due to Ginebra’s sloppy start and poor execution.
“It just came down to executing against these guys, we came out slow and sloppy, and that’s just about it,” Grigsby added.
Grigsby and his Ginebra teammates will have a few days to clean up those mistakes and improve their execution as their next game will be on July 31. But the challenge is formidable, as Ginebra will be taking on nemesis Meralco Bolts at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
