The NLEX Road Warriors could not catch a break
“We still can’t find a win, it’s the same problem all over again,” a frustrated coach Yeng Guiao said Wednesday night.
After a 29-point meltdown against the TNT Katropa last Friday, the NLEX Road Warriors entered their game against the Globalport Batang Pier with a 50/50 chance of winning as both teams were still winless heading into the midway point of the season. In addition, Batang Pier ace Terrence Romeo was still looking to find his form.
With 34.9 seconds remaining, a booming triple by Wayne Chism knotted the game at 80-all. However, the same old problems plagued the Road Warriors the rest of the way.
“Finishing the games, we’re looking for guys who can carry us in the endgame and be our closers and finishers but so far kulang talaga,” Guiao reflected.
“Wala pa.”
A turnaround jumper by Malcolm White gave Globalport the lead 11.1 seconds after Chism’s three while Chism badly missed a sweeping hook shot with 11.7 seconds remaining. Free throws from Stanley Pringle sent NLEX to its 10th straight loss stemming from last conference.
“After our import, the next best scorer was Raul Soyud, who had 12, but 10 of those came in the first quarter so we are really struggling to contribute in the scoring [department] and the guys that are expecting to provide us that are not really stepping up,” the 58-year-old mentor furthered as Kevin Alas and Garvo Lanete went a combined 0-for-8 from the field.
“They can’t find their offense, we’re not sure what the problem is. Di naman namin pinipigilan tumira, pinapagalitan nga namin pag di tumitira pero di pa rin makuha yung opensa.”
And with his team struggling to find that elusive win that has eluded them since January 7, 2017, a deflated Yeng Guiao continues to look for a way to turn their fortunes around.
“Actually, kulang na lang magpapako ako sa krus para mag-iba yung fortune namin,” the seven-time champion coach quipped.
“Pero siguro, it’s a time for reflection, so we will use [the three-day break] as a reflection and see what we can do for the team,” Guiao closed as he walked to the parking lot of the SMART-Araneta Coliseum still looking for answers.
