Rain or Shine sets sanctions vs missing national cager
by Jonas Terrado
Raymond Almazan is likely to face punishment from the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters after he went missing in the team’s last two games of the PBA Governors’ Cup without any notice from management.
A source close to the situation said Almazan has been dealing not with family problems but also issues about his situation with the team that selected him second overall in the 2013 draft.
His agent Danny Espiritu and Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia are unsure when will Almazan show up at least in regular practices, but the situation is obviously another issue the Elasto Painters are facing after starting the Governors’ Cup with four straight defeats.
Rain or Shine fell 99-93 to Blackwater Sunday at the City of Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna.
The Elasto Painters are in desperate mode with their next schedule against defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Saturday in Lucena City, Quezon.
Ginebra became the first team to reach the quarters with a 7-1 record.
Garcia said Almazan was supposed to suit up in Rain or Shine’s 106-89 loss to Alaska at the Smart Araneta Coliseum but had to return home due to a family emergency.
But Almazan was nowhere in sight in the days prior to the Elasto Painters’ match in Sta. Rosa.
It is unknown what issues Almazan had with the team, though he was benched during a game in the Philippine Cup due to an argument with Garcia after a loss to GlobalPort last January.
Almazan’s move is similar to the one Calvin Abueva did after the PBA All-Star Week, prompting his then-team Alaska to suspend him for the remainder of the Commissioner’s Cup.
Abueva was eventually traded to the Phoenix Fuel Masters last August.
