GlobalPort head coach Pido Jarencio played down the shocking spat he had against the star guard Terrence Romeo during the Batang Pier’s quarterfinal bout versus Magnolia Hotshots, Tuesday night at Mall of Asia Arena.
The two exchanged words during a timeout with 3:20 in third canto, just seconds after the Hotshots was able to snatch the lead for the first time in the match, 54-53, courtesy of veteran guard Mark Barroca’s three-pointer.
Jarencio and Romeo had to be separated by the players and coaches to prevent any ugly incident that may happen. But both of them spoke with each other with cooler heads mere moments later, and went on with the game.
The Batang Pier lost though, 79-86, putting a bitter end to their 2017-18 Philippine Cup campaign.
“Wala yon,” said Jarencio. “Yung ugali na gusto mong manalo and then yung bata winner din. Minsan nagkakaroon talaga ng mainit na diskusyunan pero it’s part of the game. It’s also a part of the process na dini-develop yung team.
“Walang issue, walang issue yung team. Nagkasarapan lang.”
GlobalPort actually had the chance to blow up Magnolia’s win-once incentive when they raised the curtains of the match with a 26-6 lead. But then, the Hotshots were just too good in handling such situations.
“It’s always a game of momentum. Nung nakuha nila yung momentum nila nakabuwelo sila. Siyempre kapag nakabuwelo na sila yung team na yan mabigat din, mahirap i-stop,” said the veteran bench strategist.
“Pero ang maganda dun, lumalaban, nandiyan tayo up to the end. Na-miss lang namin, nagkaroon lang kami ng turnover, only down by four. Talagang ganoon. Breaks of the game,” continued Jarencio.
And in this loss, Jarencio did not point fingers or blurt out alibis. The fiery mentor took all the blame to himself.
“No sour-graping, no pinpointing. Siguro hindi ko nahanda ng maayos yung team namin. It’s all my fault tapos yun lang. Ako lahat yon. It’s all my fault,” said Jarencio. “May mga shortcomings. Pero kahit papaano lumaban.
“Yun lang naman ang gusto ko, basta lumaban. Medyo kulang, bitin, pero darating din yan na happy ending lahat. Basta as long as yung mga players namin working hard, nakikinig, sumusunod… Magiimprove yan.”
Now that their All-Filipino run is done, the Batang Pier will be heading into a week of break before returning to work for the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup. Asked who will their reinforcement be, Jarencio has yet to give anything certain.
“May tinitignan na kami,” he said. “Sana makatulong kaya lang ngayon import rush na. Halos lahat naghabulan na ng import. Alam mo naman marami tayong kalaban na bansa eh, may mga liga rin kaya sinisiguro lang namin yung import na kukunin namin, para hindi naman masayang yung conference namin.”
