Jarrid Famous was straightforward and bared that he and the Blackwater Elite are frustrated following their third straight loss at the hands of the Alaska Aces, 93-74, on Sunday.
The Elite are now at the bottom of the standings this early in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, with a 0-3 card.
“We’re frustrated,” admitted the seven-year pro after the loss at SMART Araneta Coliseum. “Nobody comes to the games who want to lose.
“We all want to win but it should be a collective effort.”
Collective effort, indeed, is what killed them in their match against the Aces.
The American-Lebanese import and 6-foot-8 Poy Erram were the only bright spots in the loss: the former had 27 points and 21 rebounds, while the latter had 11 markers and caroms.
Nobody else scored in double figures.
“I think we all need to step up. It’s a collective effort. Basketball is a team effort. There’s no import versus locals, locals versus imports,” the New York native said.
Making the loss even harder to fathom is the fact that the Elite went down by as much as 30, as early as the second frame, until they regained their rhythm to close by seven, 59-66, in the fourth.
“It’s disappointing, man… We got down early,” rued the veteran PBA reinforcement. “We need to have a sense of urgency to start the game well and don’t wait for a 20-point deficit.
“It’s great morale booster that we can play the right way in certain time. But when you’re already down 25, 26 points in the first, second quarter. It’s just too big of a hole to dig yourself out of it.”
Still, Famous keeps the faith, that the Elite still have chances to turn things around in the mid-season tilt.
“If us in Blackwater think we cannot turn this season around, that’s a problem. But we talked about it. We all feel that it’s not over. It’s 0-3 yes but 0-3 can turn into 3-3,” said the 29-year-old big man.
“I mean if we play three straight good games, 3-3, then we’re back in the mix. We cannot cut ourselves out. Never. I will never cut myself out ever. In everything I do, I always believe that I can succeed.”
