During a timeout late in the second frame, Globalport head coach Franz Pumaren gave Stanley Pringle an earful, pointing out the lapses he had made on the defensive side against Barangay Ginebra.
Pringle tried to explain his side, but Pumaren did not accept his excuse. As a result, the Filipino-American guard threw a tantrum, throwing his towel and the whiteboard in front of the coach, leading to a heated argument.
The 53-year-old mentor was so infuriated that he ordered his men to take Pringle out of the playing court, but the latter, who was pacified by team manager Bonnie Tan and import Murphey Holloway, did not oblige.
It was just the most glaring scenario that took place within the Batang Pier’s side Sunday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. But after the match, the fierce tactician downplayed that spat between him and Pringle.
“It’s no biggie,” said Pumaren after their 108-124 defeat.
“It’s normal for coaches during the heat of the game. You cannot mellow or what. It’s no biggie. It’s just like me when I was playing. I used to argue with my coaches.”
Pumaren has always been known as a coach who never holds back in speaking his mind. And after Sunday night’s fracas, the veteran tactician iterated once more that it is simply part of his coaching style.
“For me it’s my style. Even in college, if you have something to say, it’s no problem,” shared the current Adamson Soaring Falcons head coach. “For me we just have to do what we’re supposed to be doing.
“We’re all professionals here. That’s no biggie for me.”
