Just like any other hooper, Marqus Blakely hates losing.
So just imagine the pain he felt on Friday night, when he and the TNT KaTropa lost to the Magnolia Hotshots – the team where he kickstarted his PBA career in 2012 and with whom he won championships and a Best Import award.
Add to that the fact that his 17-point, 18-rebound, and 11-assist effort all went down the drain.
“It’s bittersweet.
“You don’t like losing to anybody, but you also don’t like losing to the team you played for,” lamented the 30-year-old moments after their 103-116 defeat at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. “But it is what it is.”
But more than the having his heart shattered by his old team, Blakely was also left disappointed with how he and the Texters had played.
After keeping it close in the majority of the game, the KaTropa lost sight of the Hotshots as the latter seized control in the second quarter and pulled away wide afterwards – Magnolia even led by as many as 18 in the final frame.
“We wait to get punched before we punch somebody else,” Blakely noted. “It’s something that we gotta go back and work on in practice.
“We can’t wait until they go up by ten, fifteen points before playing basketball.”
The Texters have now lost their second straight game and have dropped to 4-6. Though they’re still in the running for a playoff spot, Blakely said that TNT should approach their last game versus the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel as a playoff game.
“Next game, we gotta treat it like a playoff game.
“I think the realization is gonna set in, and the eagerness might be there. Hopefully, we come out next weekend with the win,” said the two-time PBA champion.
