Andrei Caracut managed to give the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters a shot in their PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semifinals Game 1 despite dealing with a hand injury.

The former De La Salle University guard, whose left wrist got swollen after it got inadvertently hit by Kelly Williams, still finished with 16 points, and he even gave the Painters one last chance to close in on TNT Tropang 5G, albeit missing a four-pointer in the dying seconds.

However, Caracut admitted that what factored into their late collapse against the Tropang 5G was how they were not able to defend hotshot RR Pogoy, especially in the fourth canto.

“Si RR, ‘yun ‘yung talagang ‘di namin mapigilan namin kanina, kaya may adjustments kami sa game,” said Caracut of his fellow former UAAP standout who hit a four-pointer at the 4:24 mark to extend TNT’s lead to nine, 93-84.

Pogoy eventually finished with 28 points and four assists, top-scoring for the grand slam-seeking TNT.

“‘Yung timing ng tira ni RR, mabigat, plus rebounds din namin, kaya hindi kami makatakbo at ‘di kami maka-transistion. ‘Yun ‘yung kailangan namin,” he added.

The Painters previously impressed in the quarterfinals by taking down the higher-seeded NLEX Road Warriors all thanks to their rebounding prowess.

However, they were out-hustled by TNT this time around, 59-44 overall, and 16-12 on the offensive glass.

Still, Caracut is keeping his head high, especially since they still have a lot of chances to bounce back.

“Dumating kami sa gantong sitwasyon, pero kailangan naming labanan ‘yung adversity,” he said.

“Talo kami, pero ang kagandahan, nag-uusap naman kami kung ano ‘yung mga kailangan namin sa series.”

As for his injury, Caracut quickly brushed off fears and emphasized how he would be ready for their fightback in Game 2.

“Natamaan ni Kelly kanina eh. Medyo ‘di ko magalaw, pero kaya naman. Wala namang fracture, ‘di naman masakit, pero namamaga. ‘Pag may tape, kaya naman, lalaro ako ng Game 2,” he insisted. (ABS-CBN News)