WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO WIN – WARNER
For GlobalPort coach Eric Gonzales, the decision to change imports was a risk or reward move, but they were willing to live with it. So out went CJ Leslie, and in came Calvin Warner.
“(Warner’s) maturity being a veteran import helps us in our immaturity. Yun ang malaking bagay,” Gonzales said said. “For now, we need an inside presence that is mature that will help the team get better.”
And on Wednesday, that move paid dividends, as Warner finally got his first win, tallying 23 points and 20 rebounds in leading the Batang Pier past Barako Bull, 99-81.
“It feels great. It’s always good to get a win. I’m very happy for my team. We fought hard until the end,” Warner said.
Standing at a tad short of 6-foot-5, he is a bit undersized for his position, but he took the challenge head on and defended 7-foot-1 Energy import Solomon Alabi.
“That’s my job. I’ve been defending taller people over the course of my career. He’s just another player to me. I can’t worry about his size, I should worry about my team, to do what I can to help us win,” Warner said.
A well-traveled veteran in his own right, Warner just wants to instill his experience on the young GlobalPort crew.
“We got a great bunch of guys. I feel like everybody is willing to learn. We come to work every day in practice with an open mind. We learn a lot and everybody’s accepting our roles. I can’t ask for anything more from our team,” said the 34-year-old Warner, who has racked up 13 championships in his stops in Latin America, the Middle East and Korea.
“The big thing I told them tonight is we have to learn how to win. It’s not good enough to just play hard in the end. We might say that we fought hard until the end, but if we lose in the end, it’s not good enough,” he said.
“At the end of the season, if you lose 11 games, there’s no sense to say we fought hard. We got to get some wins. So in the last four minutes, I told the guys, ‘This is where we learn how to win. The momentum is on our side, we’re playing good, but we need to learn how to win.’ That’s where experience sets in. I just try to bring my leadership to the team. I don’t care about my stats, I just want to win.” (RL)
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