Lastimosa admits frustrations piling up for Road Warriors
Carlo Lastimosa made it clear that he didn’t had any axe to grind as NLEX fought his old team Blackwater on Wednesday.
“Wala naman. Sinabi lang ni coach to keep on being aggressive,” he said.
Lastimosa followed his coach’s orders, finishing with 23 points in the Road Warriors’ 96-85 loss against the Elite.
However, everything else went wrong for NLEX as the injury-riddled squad struggled to find its groove in the duel.
“Medyo malas yung team kaya di spread yung scoring namin. Ang sama din ng gising naming lahat. Malas din. Move on na lang,” the 6-foot guard said.
Lastimosa’s frustrations came to a head after he incurred a technical foul for pointing an accusing finger at an official late in the game.
That, coupled with his landing spot foul on Ronjay Buenafe which meritred a flagrant foul penalty one in the first quarter, led to his ejection with 2:35 left in the game, with Blackwater comfortably ahead, 91-81.
He didn’t hide his disappointment with the turn of events, saying, “Natatalo kasi kaya naiinis na rin ako.”
Lastimosa also shared that the Road Warriors are slowly feeling the effects of the skid.
“Syempre frustrated kami. Tatlong talo, ang dami pang injury. Pero wala kaming magagawa. Nandoon na yun eh, we just have to keep on improving. Sana manalo. Wala akong masabi. Di ko rin ano ang problema ng team,” he said.
What would help NLEX end this slump, Lastimosa said, is to develop its character quick based on what coach Yeng Guiao wants.
“Kailangang mag-build ng character ng team, yun ang sinabi ni coach. Kailangan naming bilisan magkaroon ng character yung team,” he said. “Si coach Yeng, proven na champion coach yun, lahat ng team nun nag-champion. Wala sa sistema yun, nasa amin talaga (yung problema.)”
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