It may appear to be the same old story for Kia Picanto when they lost their PBA season opener to NLEX Road Warriors Wednesday night, but that doesn’t take away the fact that they were almost on the verge of booking a win.
The Picanto actually made it a long night for the more seasoned Road Warriors. Unfortunately, however, the latter displayed guts come crunchtime, and thanks to Larry Fonacier’s four-point play, NLEX came out on top, 119-115.
“Ang hirap nito. Ang masasabi ko lang talaga, sayang,” regretted Kia forward Eric Camson, who showed assertiveness on offense with 24 markers on 19 shots.
“Pero unang game pa lang naman eh, may time pa makabawi.”
The Kia who showed up Wednesday at the Filoil Flying V Center was indeed far from what the PBA teams and fans saw from last season. In their season debut, they looked rejuvenated, going toe-to-toe with the Road Warriors all through out.
And it wasn’t just Camson who played big for Picanto. The team had received plenty of help outside of the Adamson Falcons alumnus such as Jackson Corpuz with 13 points and nine boards, and Bong Galanza with 12 points.
Even those which they acquired from the controversial trade with San Miguel Beermen, Rashawn McCarthy and Jay-R Reyes, made immediate impact for Kia. The former supplied 14 points, while the latter chipped in 12 markers.
“Talagang may ipapakita sila,” lauded Camson of the support he received especially from his new teammates.
Even newly-minted coach Chris Gavina stood solidly with his players, wearing a statement shirt that read, “Prove everybody wrong”.
“I wore this for a reason today. I told everybody, ‘Prove everybody wrong today.’
“I told them you have no idea how many people have doubted us but you know I gave everybody this baller (shows baller) early in our season that says, ‘Nothing’s impossible with God’ and that’s the mindset going in,” said the youthful mentor. “If we put in the work, hopefully our next game we come out on top.”
Wednesday night could definitely be the dawn of a new era for Kia, especially with all the scrutiny they have been receiving. And for Camson, proving the doubters wrong is one of their main goals this 2018 Philippine Cup.
“[Talagang] Gusto rin naming patunayan sa PBA fans na ang Kia, hindi na katulad ng dati,” said the 27-year-old Camson, now a five-year pro cager.
“Gutom talaga kami manalo eh. Last conference, ‘di man lang kami naka-isa.”
