When Joe Silva was tapped as the head coach of the University of the East Red Warriors, the first thing he wanted to fix was the team’s mindset.
“They’re so used to just looking for Alvin [Pasaol]. I want to change that.
“They’re so used to that na ‘di pa consistent yung disiplina namin, buying to the system,” he said.
Five games in last Wednesday, the Red Warriors seemed to have embraced that idea. With Pasaol gaining much-needed support, UE scored an emphatic upset against the FEU Tamaraws with a 90-65 win.
Three days later, however, the Red Warriors returned to their old ways.
Pasaol went on to score 32 points, but the rest of UE combined for just 34 points on 10-for-44 shooting. Moreover, UE were sent crashing back down, absorbing a 66-80 loss at the hands of the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.
“Wala naman. Lumaban naman sila, nandoon din sila,” shared Pasaol, who was trying to mask his dismay with the result. “’Di lang nashu-shoot yung bola sa ring, inalat kami. Okay lang naman.
“Siguro test din sa amin ito, test sa character namin na walang easy game sa amin.”
The burly fourth-year forward is sticking to positives, though, saying that it’s better that this happens now than later.
“Parang nakita namin, nag-show lahat ng bad habits namin.”
“Mas mabuti yun na lumabas para sa game vs NU, makaka-perform kami ng mabuti,” expressed the super scorer.