ALL things considered, it was still a solid PBA Commissioner’s Cup for Phoenix even after exiting at the quarterfinals stage following a 112-81 loss to Barangay Ginebra on Friday.
The Fuel Masters had to survive a bevy of injuries and a late import change yet still finished the 12-game elimination round with an even 6-6 slate to finish seventh and make it back to the quarterfinals for the first time in two years.
But coach Charles Tiu can’t look back fondly on his first conference as a PBA head coach just yet – not when his team just got blown out by 31 points in his first taste of postseason action in the PBA.
READ: Ginebra storms into PBA semis after 31-point blowout vs Phoenix
“When you lose a game like this, there’s not too much to be happy about. I feel, they kicked our butts the whole game. In everything. They just outplayed us in all ends. That’s the only thing on my mind,” Tiu said.
“I haven’t thought back for the whole conference, but obviously, we’re happy to make it back to the quarterfinals for the first time in a long time.”
The 37-year-old head coach did acknowledge how his team fought through the entire conference, and he’s confident that they’re building the right way.
Perhaps the toughest break the Fuel Masters had to endure was when they lost Ricci Rivero to a hand wound after what would’ve been a momentum building win over the TNT Tropang 5G with two games left in the conference.
Without Rivero, the Fuel Masters – who had a shot at a twice-to-beat advantage at that point – lost their last two games and slid to seventh place after the eliminations.
“Obviously it hurts not having Ricci [for the final stretch of the eliminations]. It kind of threw him off rhythm, it’s very hard. I’m surprised he even [played] but I’m thankful he still tried to play today kahit na ganun yung hand niya. The wound was still open but sabi niya laban na lang niya,” Tiu sad.
“No excuses. Whether he was injured or not, with the way Ginebra played today we just had no answers for them. They’re a great team. A great coach. It’s tough. Just tough to end the conference this way.”
While they truly are taking a step in the right direction, this game was a reminder to Tiu of the gap that they need to bridge, and all the right steps that they’d have to make if they want to break through to the upper tier of the league.
“To me as a coach, obviously you want to build a winning mindset. Games like this are unacceptable and painful. Hopefully, next conference we can come back better. I think we’re headed in the right direction,” he said.
“We played the whole conference without Kai [Ballungay] but no excuses. We lost to a much much better team today and that’s how far we are still in the PBA.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
