PAOLO Hernandez and Mapua are left searching for answers after the team suffered its fourth straight loss in the NCAA Season 98 seniors basketball tournament.
"Panic mode na kami kasi 1-4 [win-loss] na kami at mahirap na makabangon," he said after the Cardinals' 67-62 defeat to Letran on Tuesday.
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Hernandez shot a woeful 3-of-10 from the floor but tallied nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists in the rematch between last season's finalists.
Frustration inevitably is slowly creeping for an Intramuros crew that raised so much expectations after an opening-day win over San Beda.
Yet as down as the mood is for the Cardinals, they are prepared to keep grinding.
"Syempre malungkot. Pero tuloy-tuloy pa rin kami kung anuman maging resulta. Have faith, continue to grind lang and all out kami sa susunod pa naming games," Hernandez said.
"Bilog yung bola eh. Lahat pwedeng mangyari and lahat ng teams competitive. Lahat gustong manalo and hindi na namin hawak yung resulta eh. Ginagawa lang namin ay all out kami and kung anuman maging resulta, tatanggapin namin pero sa dulo babawi at babawi kami."
As worried as they are, the Cardinals know the season is just five games old and there's still a lot of time to turn things around.
"Tuloy-tuloy lang. Sana sa next game mapanalo na namin," he said.
The Cardinals will try to snap this skid against Jose Rizal University on Friday.
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