Next game mentality.
That is what Far Eastern University head coach Olsen Racela has been preaching to his players as they continue to fight for a Final Four spot towards the tail-end of the eliminations.
In their game against De La Salle University, the Tamaraws had a strong start. That led them to finish the first half with a 42-29 advantage. However, they eventually lost their momentum as the defense of the Green Archers held them down, limiting them to score only five points in the third quarter.
Despite losing their 16-point lead, the Tamaraws never panicked as they engaged in a back-and-forth battle against their opponents in the fourth quarter. Simply focusing on the next play and properly executing on both ends of the floor allowed FEU to escape with a much-needed 67-62 victory over La Salle to rise to solo fourth.
“Well actually, before the game, sinabi ko sa kanila that talagang kailangan namin dito sa game na ‘to. We always talk about it eh, ‘yung next game mentality. So sinabi ko sa kanila it doesn’t matter if you made the basket or you made a good assist – you focus on the next play,” the PBA great said. “So same thing, ‘pag masama ang tira or ‘di ka naka-shoot or nag-foul ka or bad turnover… You focus on the next play.
“So ‘yun ‘yung sinabi ko rin sa kanila going to the fourth quarter, na tapos na ‘yung third quarter. We just focus on what’s ahead of us ‘yung fourth quarter. And I think they stepped up and really played well in the fourth quarter.”
For Abarrientos, the way they executed on both ends of the floor in crunch time against Da Sakke allowed them to successfully make crucial plays and eventually come up with the win.
After all, the Tamaraws’ close losses to Adamson (64-63) and University of the Philippines (73-70) are still fresh in their minds.
“Yun nga, it’s all about execution talaga… Ay yung ginagawa namin as a team, dahil yun sa mga screens nila, kaya ako nalilibre,” said Abarrientos, who dropped eight of his 21 points in the final frame. “And then marami na rin kasi struggles sa amin, lalo na sa mga past games namin… Lalo na mga crucial minutes mga two minutes, three minutes, lagi kaming natatalo, lagi kaming na da-down.
“So siguro ito yung way na maka-bounce back kami sa mga ganon situation lalo’t na gigil kami and naghahabol talaga kami sa Final Four spot.”
Defensively, the Tamaraws were able to hold the Green Archers to shoot just 33.3 percent from the field. They also put the clamps on La Salle’s main man in Justine Baltazar, who was limited to 13 points after only making 5-of-13 attempts on Tuesday.
“Pati ‘yung defensive execution. When I say execution, it’s not just the offense eh, defensive execution as well. I think we limited [Justine] Baltazar to 13 points today, so malaking bagay na ‘yun para sa’min. Last time we played him 21 points yata siya eh,” said Racela.
The team’s rebounding efforts have also been key in allowing them to grab extra possessions and second-chance points. Though they went up against a good rebounding team in La Salle, the Tamaraws still managed to keep in step thanks to their activity in crashing the boards.
L-Jay Gonzales led the team in rebounding with 10, while James Tempra and Patrick Sleat added six and four rebounds, respectively. The Tamaraws hauled down 42 total rebounds and managed to outwork the Green Archers in defensive rebounds, 32-27.
“Ang ginagawa namin is collective rebounding. Hindi lang isang tao kundi the whole team tulungan. Sabi ko nga eh if mag-dagdag sila ng one or two rebounds per player, malaking bagay ‘yun dun sa collective rebounding namin.” Racela shared. “Aside from that is ‘yung boxing out. I mean, ang rebounding is hindi lang naman sa bigs ‘yan eh. Lahat ng players kailangan tumulong. In fact today, si L-Jay [Gonzales] 10 rebounds yata today eh.
“Sinabihan rin namin ‘yung bigs – I’m talking about Emman [Ojuola], [Daniel] Celzo, Ximone [Sandagon], James [Tempra]… Okay lang na hindi nila makuha ‘yung rebound, basta hindi makuha ng bantay nila ‘yung rebound.
“And that’s what we’ve focused on si [Michael] Phillips. Lasi he really destroyed us in the last game, and it opened up rebounding opportunities for our guards,” Racela pointed out. “Kaya nakakuha rin si L-Jay ng 10 rebounds today.”
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