Phoenix Super LPG head coach Jamike Jarin wanted to give his young charges that ‘semifinal experience’ in the opening salvo of their PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup best-of-5 battle versus Magnolia, Wednesday night.
That’s precisely why he went with a rather unconventional starting lineup made up of bench players, namely veterans Raul Soyud and RR Garcia; sophomore winger Chris Lalata, and the rookie tandem of Ricci Rivero and Raffy Verano
“We wanted everybody to get some semifinal experience,” said the seasoned bench tactician. “We did well. They contributed, and they jump-started our game. Everybody was into it. Only shows how much we trust each other.”
The Fuel Masters, though, bowed to a narrow 82-79 decision, losing to a crucial three-point play by Tyler Bey with 1:27 left to play that broke the 78-all tie and gave the Hotshots the momentum they needed to hack out the W.
It sure is a tough one to swallow for Phoenix, given that it led by as many as nine points, 53-44, early in the third quarter.
They also had the chance to tie the game with 3.8 seconds left to play but Jason Perkins couldn’t find a good look from beyond the arc due to the defense.
Still, Jarin, someone who always looks at the bigger picture, said that it’s key in their goal of adding more experience to the youth-laden side.
“You can’t be satisfied after a loss. You’re not mad, you’re just a little bit disappointed because you had the opportunity to get the win,” he said.
“But I’m still proud of everybody,” he furthered. “Being the youngest team, we were not supposed to be here but we were able to play tough with the no. 1 seed. It’s gonna be tougher. We just need to be ready.”
That’s why he wasn’t sweating the loss whatsoever, believing that it will only make the Fuel Masters become better come Game 2 on Friday.
“Most of their players have semifinal experience. That was their big advantage. Now, the Phoenix Fuel Masters roster, we all have semifinal experience. That’s what we needed. We should be fine coming into Game 2,” said Jarin.
