PHOENIX coach Koy Banal rued his team lacked a conscious effort in dumping the ball down low to Kevinn Pinkney in its 91-75 loss to Star in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday.
Banal implied his locals instead went away from the usual flow of their offense, leading to giving up their double-digit lead in the third quarter.
“All the players just wanted to help the team win, but I hope we will realize that we cannot win it by ourselves,” Banal said. “We need to play as a team.”
As a result, Pinkney wound up with just 21 points, although he did have 23 attempts, but converted just eight of his shots in the face of the Hotshots’ stingy defense.
“Frustrations were obvious in the face of our import because he cannot receive the ball where he wants it,” Banal said.
“The players did not go to him,” the veteran mentor added as he also credited the Hotshots’ defense that limited them to making just 27 of their 85 shots for a paltry 32 percent from the field.
The Fuel Masters thus failed to put up their first winning streak in franchise history.
“You can’t control that,” Banal said of being unable to register back-to-back wins. “We just have to focus on the thing we have control and that is ourselves.”
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.
