Globalport Batang Pier head coach Pido Jarencio was in a jolly mood when he arrived at the press room of the SM Mall of Asia Arena, Friday evening.
“Hello. Na-miss ko kayo. Kala ko last game nandito ako,” quipped the light-hearted tactician.
But for Stanley Pringle, there was nothing to celebrate for the Batang Pier, even if his efforts had finally paid off and ultimately led to the end of their two-game slump in an upset of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
“It feels good, but we definitely can’t celebrate too much because we got another game coming up,” said Pringle after their 78-70 victory, where he top-billed once more with 29 points and nine rebounds.
“We’re still down 1-2, and we’re trying to get to .500,” added Pringle, whose 23-point, 10-assist output had gone for naught as they collapsed late versus the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 97-104, last Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The 30-year-old scorer lauded the way the Batang Pier limited Rain or Shine to under 100 points — a point of emphasis made by coach Pido Jarencio before the game. But Pringle still rued the way they secured missed shots.
“We played okay defense today — we kept them under a hundred points. But the rebounding was terrible,” said Pringle, whose side hauled down 59 boards but allowed the E-Painters to grab 56 caroms — 32 of which were defensive.
“It was a good win. But we need to rebound and box out.”
Asked if Friday night’s breakthrough victory means as a sign of better things to come for the squad clad in neon green, Pringle downplayed the comments, also saying, “I wouldn’t say that.”
“I would just say it was a good win. We executed our offense today. It just shows that we can win. But we can’t be too happy and celebrate too much,” continued Pringle, who is averaging 28.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and five assists. “We got another game coming up and we still need a lot to improve on.
“Just take it game by game, chop up the film, and see what we can improve.”
