TERRAFIRMA players were left surprised by the departure of long-time coach Johnedel Cardel, who had been the team’s leader on the bench for more than half a decade before he was let go by the PBA minnows.
Dyip team manager Ronald Tubid said it was but a natural feeling to somehow get affected by the exit of Cardel, who was fired after the Dyip’s woeful 1-9 record in the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup.
SPIN.ph’s ever reliable Snow Badua was the first to break the report.
In six seasons with Terrafirma, Cardel compiled an overall record of 30-113, the team’s best performance under him coming during last season’s Philippine Cup where it made the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history.
However, he is credited for nurturing the careers of Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig, young guns Kemark Carino, Tommy Olivario, Louie Sangalang, Paolo Hernandez, and Didat Hanapi, and the likes of Javi Gomez de Liano, Isaac Go, and Stephen Holt in the past.
“May mga players na nalungkot kasi malaki ang naitulong naman ni coach John sa career nila para makilala sila,” said Tubid. “But sabi ko nga sa kanila, as professionals kasama sa trabaho natin yan. That’s part of our job. Ganun talaga ang basketball.”
READ: Mark Nonoy signs two-year contract with Terrafirma
Terrafirma governor Bobby Rosales confirmed the departure of the 54-year-old former PBA player and national team member out of De La Salle in a short text message on Thursday.
Tubid said Raymond Tiongco, who’s been a longtime assistant of Cardel, will take over the coaching post and will be assisted by himself and Raymond Gavieres.
But the former PBA champion player, who’s been at the receiving end as well of being traded from one team to another, was tight-lipped as to the circumstances that led to the split-up.
“Nag-practice na kami last Monday. We’re picking up the pieces,” was all he would say.
Cardel leaving the Dyip comes just two conferences after leading the franchise back to the playoffs during the Philippine Cup in a run that saw the team come close to pulling a mighty upset against defending champion San Miguel behind the starting quintet of Holt, Go, De Liano, Tiongson, and Cahilig.
But soon after, that same core was broken up with Holt and Go going to Barangay Ginebra in an off-season blockbuster trade that landed the Dyip veterans Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle.
With the addition of Hernandez and Hanapi, the Dyip again had to build chemistry from the bottom, and coupled by the injury to original import choice Brandon Edwards, the recipe for disaster had been staring the team even before Season 49 could begin.
And it showed as Terrafirma could only register a single win at the expense of top seed TNT in what could be Cardel’s final foray with the franchise.
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