Beau Belga flirted with yet another triple-double performance and continued to become the best source of production for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who posted their fifth consecutive win and added the NorthPort Batang Pier to their growing list of victims, 115-105 in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The veteran center fell three assists shy of a triple-double showing, submitting numbers of 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as his MVP-type performance kept the good times rolling for an Elasto Painters squad, which now moved past the .500 win-loss mark for the first time.
Like tournament leader San Miguel Beer, which remained unscathed after five games, Rain or Shine matched the longest winning streak in this tournament after losing its first four games and one of the biggest reasons for that surge was Belga.
The 37-year-old veteran has been able to reinvent his game and in nine games, he’s posted averages of close to a double-double of 17.78 points and 9.33 rebounds per game.
His Nikola Jokic impersonation has been one of the reasons why the Elasto Painters were able to turn around their campaign after a slow start and now put themselves back in a much better position to vie for a playoff berth.
After becoming the first player in franchise history to register a triple-double show, Belga posted another milestone in his career as he ended up with 28 points, 18 of those coming in the first half.
“Consistent si Beau. He’s been working double time. Hindi pa rin nakakalaro sina Keith Datu and si Luis (Villegas), pero pinupunan naman ni Beau,” said Rain or Shine coach Yneg Guiao.
Belga attributed his rejuvenized performance to Guiao’s trust and confidence on his play.
“Every time na may sina-suggest ako, naga-adjust rin talaga si Coach Yeng sa akin,” added Belga. “Yung kumipyansa niya sa akin at ng mga teammates ko, every time na nakikita nila akong libre, binibigay nila sa akin.”
“Doon pa lang, tumataas na kumpiyansa ko. Siyempre, kapag nakaka-shoot ka, lalo kang gaganahan dumipensa. But it’s a complete effort for us. Nairaraos namin yung mkga games namin na lahat kami nagtutulungan.”
Belga’s transition in becoming an offensive force at this latter part of his career wasn’t designed.
“Kailangan i-assert ko yung sarili ko lalo na wala si Keith. Yung first few games namin, puro pasa ako, pero dahil wala si Keith, ngayon na mayroon akong chance, aangkinin ko na,” said Belga. “Pero simula nung na-injured si Keith, pinanindigan ko na, mag-bwabwakaw na ako kasi nagkaroon ako ng chance na magkaroon ng 16, 17 shots in a game. Bihira sa akin yun sa 15 years ko sa PBA. Usually, ang mga tira ko pinakamarami na yung 10, 11 shots.”
But other than his productive numbers, Belga has been setting good examples, according to Guiao.
“He’s vocal and has been acting like a leader on the floor, pero minsan napapagalitan ko. Sinasabi ko, ‘vocal ka nga pero yung sinasabi mo minsan hindi mo nasusunod.’ But I encouraged everybody that once you said something, obligado ka na paninindigan mo yun. Kapag sinabi mo sa teammates mo na magsipag ka, kailangan magsipag ka rin.”
