Just when then Globalport Batang Pier thought things would finally go their way in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup, having earned a breakthrough win versus NLEX last Wednesday, reality slapped them harshly in the face on Friday.
The Batang Pier succumbed to another defeat, this time at the hands of TNT Katropa, 109-88. Furthermore, the setback marks their fifth loss in six outings, leading to their current 1-5 win-loss card.
And no one was more clearly frustrated than head coach Franz Pumaren, who did not hold back his punches as he lamented the poor outing of his bench players, who contributed a lackluster 13 points to their total output.
“It should be a collective effort. We’re not getting help from the guys that should be helping us. Bench is not really there,” rued Pumaren after the match. “In order for us to turn around this conference [we need] to play consistently.
“Basketball is not a 24-minute, 36-minute game,” he continued, regarding the gutsy effort his wards had displayed in the first half until the Katropa revved up and zoomed through in the next 24 minutes.
Even beyond Friday night, the Batang Pier are indeed playing poorly in the import-laden conference with the way they have been losing, bowing to teams by an average of 19.4 points. Their biggest beat down came at the hands of Alaska — a 28-point, 107-79 loss in their opener last March 18.
And for the 53-year-old mentor, enough is enough. Just as he had claimed a few weeks ago, Pumaren reiterated that roster tweaks will definitely take place in the near future, to help the franchise turn into legitimate contenders.
“I’ve seen what we have right now. I’ll be a hypocrite if I say I’m satisfied with our current roster. I’m here, management is here to get the best possible players that can help us,” Pumaren warned.
“We’re looking to make some changes probably. We know what we are missing, we know what we are not getting from the other guys, so we just need to plug in the holes.”
But at this time, the 19-year veteran tactician is also aware that changes will not come by as easily as he thinks. For now, all he has to do is settle with the tools he has for the meantime.
“At this point, we just have to do it in our best way. We cannot rely on other event. We just have to do our own job, we just need to write our own destiny.”
