MORE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Falling 0-3 and occupying the cellar of the Commissioner’s Cup standings, NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez can’t help but be disappointed.
“We just lost to a very strong team,” he said moments after defending champion Purefoods scored a blowout victory over his team.
“The way we played tonight is very lousy. You don’t play defense without any intensity, so we have to go back to the drawing board. Pukpok pa rin para maka-recover.”
NLEX was doomed by a six-point production in the second quarter, and what made matters worse was the lack of defensive intensity for them to be able to mount a fightback.
“Six points in the second quarter is really tough for us. We simply gave up, but as I’ve said, we’ll continue to try to improve this team and hopefully, we can go on from this. It’s a tough game for us against Purefoods,” he said.
Import Al Thornton also had issues to deal on his own, as the league mandated the former NBA player to further pad his metal brace protecting his right knee.
“It really changed his game. We had three paddings na just to protect it, but he just has to play through it. He also had a difficult night today against the defense of Purefoods,” the coach said, as Thornton was limited to just 11 points and seven boards.
Still, Fernandez puts the premium in improvement as they still aim for their first win this conference.
“The Dubai trip is really a little bit of improvement for us because in the first two games, we played really well. It’s just like in this game, we’re facing a very strong team. It’s still on me until we continue to improve,” he said. (RL)
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