Real deal: Jeffrei Chan

Chan: no longer lost in the shadows of Arwind and Denok

Oh what difference does a seemingly one-sided trade, new coach and a conference or two makes!

Jeffrei Chan, a 6"2 guard from Bacolod now strutting his wares for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, have seen his production and minutes go up in the ongoing Philippine Cup where he is slowly carving a name as one of the league's newer premier shooters.

Once hailed as a defensive specialist who can knockdown shots all over the floor when needed, Chan now plays a more defined and lead role for his team under the tutelage of the ever unpredictable and always temperamental RoS head coach Yeng Guiao. True enough, in only 27 minutes of action, Chan is averaging 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 46% shooting from two and an astounding 56% from three point territory.

Granted, the game is being made a lot easier for Chan thanks to playing alongside defensive magnets Gabe Norwood (whose combination of height, ball handling skills and athleticism is unparalleled in the league) and rookie combo guard Paul Lee. But it's still up to the player if he can make shots or not-- and so far, Chan's been hitting them. Hell, he even took 10 attempts from deep in that blowout win over the Aces-- something I haven't heard of from a Guiao player (without him being benched for the rest of the conference).

Is this the year that Chan emerges from the shadows of fellow FEU alumni and now household names Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda? Probably so, and by the looks of things, he's just a couple of clutch games away from cementing his place among the superstar guards of the PBA.