The Tanduay Rhum Masters suffered their second loss in a row on Thursday night in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup, and head coach Lawrence Chongson is not hiding his emotions.
The 52-year-old tactician did not suppress the disappointment and dissatisfaction he felt towards his roster after losing to the Cignal-San Beda HD Hawkeyes, 85-71, a defeat which drops their record to an even 3-3.
And for the long-time coach, he is doubtful that his current team — which is a mix of college standouts and ex-pros — can be a perennial contender in this year’s conference.
“Tingin ko, maybe I don’t have the personnel. At first when I formed the team I thought this will be good enough,” lamented Chongson.
“Maybe nagkamali ako. Maybe nadala ako sa iba ‘ah ex-pro ito, ito beterano’ alam mo yun? I thought I had the materials, I had the weapons.”
Chongson realized those doubts and became clouded with uncertainties towards his team — and a handful of players — after the Rhum Masters suffered losses against the likes of Racal, Café France, and now with Cignal.
And for him, he believes that those particular players are having a hard time adjusting to the style of play in the D-League.
“After three losses to the big guns, parang kapos. Tingin ko either nadala ako sa forming the team. [Jom] Sollano for example. [Jaymo] Eguilos, [Raffy] Reyes, [Mark] Cruz galing pro.
“Parang na-ano sila sa college games at dito puro press. Unlike sa PBA ‘di naman ganun. So parang nate-take out kami sa comfort zone namin,” he explained.
But despite this current skid of Tanduay, Chongson does not see the need to tweak his two-month old roster, pointing out that all they have to do is to polish everything they have worked on, particularly chemistry.
“Wala pa akong naiisip na full proof na kapalit. Ang meron sa kanila, magkakasama na kami ng two months. Yung chemistry issue pa rin pero pag pinalitan mo back to zero ‘di ba?”
“Hopefully we can build some momentum and chemistry sa last three games at practice. Unless I can find a game-changer. Meron akong naiisip going into the playoffs but I’d rather keep it to my chest for now,” said Chongson.
