LYCEUM hasn’t been treading the friendliest of waters since kicking off their NCAA Season 101 campaign.
Not only are the Pirates the only remaining winless team in the league, they also have suffered the most heartbreaks with three of their five losses coming in overtime – the latest, a 95-93 loss to Letran last Saturday.
But despite coming up short once more, head coach Gilbert Malabanan is singing a different tune a few games after blasting his boys about their lack of fight.
READ: Villegas keeps faith in steering ‘heartless’ Pirates back on course
“Even though we still lost, nakita niyo naman na they're trying to do their best. They did their effort, talagang binibigay naman nila lahat, eh,” he said.
With all the close losses they had, the worst thing he can do now is to compound on their woes by showing his frustration in the locker room.
“Ako as the head coach of the team, di ko pinapafeel sa kanila na down na down. Kasi pag yung head nakita nilang down, madadamay na din sila. Basta ako always positive na makukuha din namin yung first win namin this season,” he said.
“Sabi ko nga there’s nothing to be ashamed of, lalo na sa game na ‘to. Siguro hindi pa talaga tama yung mabigyan kami ng panalo ni God.”
From calling out his team due to having a heartless performance, Malabanan now likes what he’s seeing from his team.
Though the Knights repeatedly tried to pull away against the Pirates, Malabanan’s boys kept fighting led by the brilliant Ato Barba and Renz Villegas who made key plays down the stretch in regulation.
“Actually yun yung hinahanap ko talaga sa team ko, eh. Even though the opponent’s leading us, kahit double-digit pa yan, even though one minute lamang yung kalaban ng anim, [we’re] gonna push them to the limit” he said.
“I dont want to see na gigive up sila sa mga ganung instances. Sabi ko as long as wala pa yung final buzzer, we don't give up" he added.
“Sabi ko nga sa mga players ko, I still believe them, I still trust them, and I still love them. Hindi mawawala lahat yun dahil lang sa mga games namin.”
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