COACHES HAPPY WITH SORENTO’S MAIDEN CONFERENCE, EYE HADDADI FOR COMM’S CUP
Inspite of a rather gloomy first conference in the PBA, Kia assistant coach Glenn Capacio expressed satisfaction over how the Sorento fared in the Philippine Cup.
“Standings-wise, record-wise, kung titignan, talagang pangit. But as a coach, happy ako sa pinakita ng players ko kasi we’re not that talented, a bunch of unknowns, but we’re competing. Happy pa rin ako,” Capacio said.
Ending the conference on a 10-game losing skid to wind up at 11th at 1-10, Capacio said that the low finish is understandable considering the manpower they have been dealt.
“Di ako magmamalinis, pero kahit sino ang ilagay sa katayuan ko, siguro baka ganun din ang record eh. Pero ako, happy ako dahil maganda ang tinatakbo ng team. They’re playing together, offensively and defensively, so wala na kong mahihingi pa,” he said.
“Kulang lang talaga sa materyales. We’re three to four players away to compete. Limited lang kami kasi yung magagaling nasa ibang teams. Di namin makukuha yun kasi ang hihingin nila, draft picks. Ayaw namin i-sacrifice yung draft picks next year kasi magaling ang mga papasok. Sa mga free agents naman, siguro di ibibigay sa amin yung mga quality players, so dun lang talaga kukuha sa free agents na di na-sign. Mahirap talaga.”
Kia fielded a record 24 players in the Philippine Cup. The other 11 teams only had as much as 16 in their 11 games this conference.
But Capacio said that despite the number of players they suited up this first conference, he’s happy to note that the system remains intact.
“Proud ako sa system na nilalagay namin sa team. Kahit magpalit kami ng players, ganun pa rin ang tinatakbo. Kung ibang teams yun, magplait ka ng three or four players, magbabago yung takbo, pero sa amin hindi ganun,” Capacio said.
He also hopes that management remains patient, given that it’s really hard to build a contender in the PBA from the ground-up.
“It’s a process here in Kia. Sana may patience yung management sa amin because there’s no shortcut here in the PBA. Halos lahat ng teams, nagdaan sa ganito. So hopefully, sa second conference, di ganito ang mangyari. Gusto namin makakuha ng quality import, mamaximize namin kung unlimited height ang ibibigay sa amin ng PBA. We’re looking for a big guy. Dapat 7-footer, kasi dun lang mapupunan yung kakulangan namin,” Capacio, a defensive ace during his PBA playing days, explained.
And who does the Sorento have in mind as inport for the Commissioner’s Cup?
“Sa ngayon, ang gusto namin si (Hamed) Haddadi. Na-email na namin yung agent nya pero di pa namin sure kung makukuha namin dahil sa salary. NBA-caliber sya so hindi biro-biro yun.” (RL)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
