WAS he gun-shy or just playing smart?
Stanley Pringle's much-awaited PBA debut left some questions after the top pick overall of this season's rookie draft took just 10 shots against NLEX on Tuesday night in GlobalPort's 96-101 loss in its Philippine Cup debut at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The GlobalPort rookie made five attempts and finished with 14 points to go with five rebounds, five assists and three steals in his pro league debut, but some online fans felt he could've been more assertive especially when the Batang Pier were fading late in the game.
In contrast, backcourt teammate Terrence Romeo scored 33 points by taking 26 shots, making 14.
The former star of the Indonesia Warriors in the ABL, however, insisted he was in no way gun-shy, saying he merely picked his spots and not try to force anything.
“I take the shots as it goes. I don’t want to force anything because we got a lot of scorers in the team,” said the 27-year-old guard. “If they need me to take more shots, then I’ll see, but right now, I’m just taking smart shots, not trying to force anything.”
Pringle's PBA debut didn't turn out like he had hoped for, but he said he liked what he saw in the dugout after the loss: All the GlobalPort players upset and raring to bounce back.
“We didn’t get the win, we’re a little disappointed,” said six-foot Fil-American guard out of Penn State. “They’re (Pringle’s teammates) all competitors and they all want to win. Every person was upset today.
“We lost, everybody’s mad, everybody’s ready to get back and get some wins.”
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