For months now, the NLEX Road Warriors have yet to feel how it’s like to win. They are now 0-9 in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup after bowing to the San Miguel Beermen on Friday night, and have now extended their skid to 13 games, which traces back to the Philippine Cup.
Simply put, losing has seemingly become routine for the disgruntled Road Warriors, so that for every game they go into, a loss seemed inevitable despite the gallant stands and late-game scares they put out.
But now that head coach Yeng Guiao and company have brought in new pieces to hopefully turn things around for the MVP-owned franchise, changes will surely take place. And Mallari has bought in to the team’s goals.
“Just try to get that championship mentality,” said Mallari upon his NLEX debut also Friday night in which they lost, 114-108.
“Zero and nine’s no fun. Sometimes it might creep in your head like ‘how are we even gonna get out of here?'”
Mallari, who was acquired by NLEX from the Mahindra Floodbuster, is indeed ready to help the Road Warriors change their fortunes. He even expressed his admiration towards head coach Yeng Guiao — enough to say that he is willing to give it all for his new home.
“I like it. First impression, I like it,” said Mallari, who had a conflict with coach Chris Gavina during his stay with the Mahindra squad. “He gets mad when you don’t take open shots. [It’s an] equal opportunity [for everybody].
“I always hear great things about coach Yeng, and everything was true,” added the 30-year-old, who averaged 12.0 points in his last eight games with the Floodbuster.
Now that the Road Warriors are already out of the import-laden conference, the four-time PBA champion and his new team’s sights are now set into the next conference — the 2017 Governor’s Cup.
“Come next conference, everyone’s 0-0, so we’re just looking to build for next conference,” said Mallari.
