It’s been shaky for the TNT KaTropa in the early part of the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup. Their record spoke a lot about how tumultuous their start was, as they were 1-4 at one point.
So when Mark Dickel came in as the Texters’ consultant around August – almost the same as Marqus Blakely – he wanted to help TNT regain their enjoyment of playing the game.
“For me, it was just a matter of trying to get them to enjoy basketball again and finding their love of the game again,” said the New Zealand-native, who has represented his country many times.
In the two games he has been with the KaTropa so far, it looks like Dickel has been successful.
TNT have won their third straight game – their second straight with Dickel – Sunday night, coming back from 23 points down to frustrate Stanley Pringle and the NorthPort Batang Pier, 104-102.
Based on how the KaTropa played, changes are evident, such as the way they executed defense in the fourth quarter – TNT ran a full court press for a good amount of minutes.
The Texters had never been known as a pressing team before.
“It’s something that we wanna focus on. If you allow the other teams to play, they’re gonna score on you. So defense has to be our focus, otherwise we’re really, really beatable,” said the 41-year-old Dickel.
However, Dickel made it clear that he isn’t doing a major overhaul to the flagship MVP franchise.
“Not too much structurally,” he said. “Really, it’s just trying to make it enjoyable for them and hopefully that translates to the court. We have a good talent in our team.
‘It’s just how we gonna play hard enough to win every game.”
