Terrafirma is bringing back Brandon Edwards as it has given up on Ryan Richards following another defeat in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
Acting head coach Raymond Tiongco bared the switch moments after the Dyip absorbed a 104-85 beatdown at the hands NLEX at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“Last game niya na,” he said of Richards. “We decided na i-let go. Talagang hindi siya pabor doon sa sistemang tinatakbo namin. He’s too slow. Tsaka siya naman, aminado na hindi siya makakasabay doon sa gusto kong mangyari.”
Listed at 6-foot-11, Richards was brought in by Terrafirma as it clearly wanted to maximize the absence of height restrictions for imports in this conference.
However, the English-Jamaican center couldn’t fit into the scheme of things of the team that’s rebuilding anew, let alone live up to the expectations.
In his first PBA game against Converge, Richards only had 10 points on 16 attempts alongside 10 rebounds, and his supposed bounce-back versus NorthPort was remembered more for his one-second playing time.
He was actually a starter against the Batang Pier but only spent a second on the floor as he reportedly complained of nagging back spasms.
The 33-year-old did start promisingly against the Road Warriors but couldn’t sustain his flow, to the point that Tiongco and the locals deemed it best to just play with an all-Filipino lineup instead after the second quarter.
Richards tallied six points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and seven rebounds against two turnovers in the 17 minutes he played.
“Nung halftime I talked to the locals. Kasi ang sama ng ginawa namin nung first two quarters. I talked to the locals kung anong gusto nilang mangyari,” he said.
“Nung tinanong ko ng gusto niyo ng all-local, kaya ba natin? Sabi nila kaya. Sabi ko sige, gawan natin ng paraan. Nag-deliver naman,” he added.
(C) PBA Images
Now that they’re moving on from Richards, Terrafirma is excited to welcome back Edwards, who was the team’s first choice for the Season 49 Governors’ Cup until an ACL injury during a preseason tuneup spoiled the plan.
And although he’s listed as 6-foot-6, Tiiongco believes that the 33-year-old from Texas is capable of guarding imports taller than him.
“Kaya ko siya kinukuha kahit undersized kasi alam na nya ‘yung sistema namin. He’s been here since November. Bago siya umalis ng Indonesia, nagpapraktis pa siya sa amin so alam niya yung niru-run namin,” he said.
“I think he can defend the big guys eh, kaya siya yung kinuha namin na best available, tsaka gustong maglaro sa team namin.”
