GROWING PAINS
After its breakthrough opening day win over Blackwater, Kia crashed back to earth with a thud, suffering blowouts at the hands of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Rain or Shine.
Tough losses indeed, but their 1-2 slate has exceeded assistant coach Glenn Capacio’s expectations.
“Ineexpect ko pa nga na di kami mananalo eh, pero at least may one win na kami. Ganun talaga, expansion team, growing pains ‘to though positive pa rin ako,” he said.
This, Capacio said, roots from the very fact that personnel-wise, they will always be underdogs.
“Kung ico-compare yung players ko sa kalaban, malayo eh. Nakakalamang lang dyan si Reil Cervantes o Rudy Lingganay, then after that pare-parehas na ang talent level. May tendency pa yung mga bagong players na lumabas sa sistema. So I just tell them to stay with the system kahit nalalamangan ka. Dun mag-uumpisa eh,” he said.
Capacio said that so far, he sees that their defense is holding. What bothers him more is his team is firing blanks from the field, which has doomed the Sorento in their past two outings.
“Nitong last two games, medyo di maganda ang nilaro namin. Pero yung sa Ginebra, defensively, ok pa rin kami kasi we limited Ginebra to 88 points. Mas marami pa kaming attempts sa two games namin, di lang talaga kami maka-shoot. We’re forcing them turnovers, sa Ginebra, they had 30, sa Rain or Shine 20. Kami 12 to 13 lang kaya ok kami. Ang problema lang, di namin alam kung san kami kukuha ng iiskor,” Capacio explained.
The seasoned bench tactician feels that the players’ unfamiliarity with the spotlight has contributed in this struggle, saying, “Di namin alam kung pano sila tutulungan kasi it’s more mental eh. Sa tingin ko, nananaginip pa sila at di makapaniwala na nasa PBA sila. Nakikita nila yung mga idols nila, kaya pag kalaban na nila sa floor, maliit na ang tingin nila sa ring.”
He added, “Mas marami kaming attempts kaysa sa kalaban so mas marami kaming stops. Positive yun defensively. Kaso lang, kung di naman namin maiko-convert, wala din. Ewan ko kung ano ang meron. So it’s more mental.”
“Kasi kahit siguro ako ang ma-open, mashu-shoot ko yun eh. Wala na akong magagawa as coach doon,” said Capacio. “Siguro maging pasensyoso lang sila. Ganun talaga lahat ng bago, naguumpisa sa ganito.” (RL)
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