CONVERGE coach Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda once again defended Alec Stockton after yet another costly miscue in the endgame of a loss to Barangay Ginebra on Sunday in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup.
Stockton found himself under the microscope anew when his inbounds pass in the dying seconds was knocked away by Scottie Thompson for a turnover that led to a Justin Brownlee teardrop off Stockton that put Ginebra ahead, 97-93.
READ Brownlee in vintage form as Ginebra asserts mastery of Converge
Ginebra eventually hung on to a 99-93 win to deal Converge its fourth straight loss, just days after Stockton fouled Don Trollano with the shotclock running down that led to the Beermen claiming the win, 103-99, against the FiberXers.
On Sunday night, Stockton wound up with nine points, three rebounds, and five assists, but shot only 2-of-14 from the field.
Still, Pineda said the blame should not be put on Stockton, whose errors have been magnified because these came during crucial moments of games.
READ Delta won't pin blame on Stockton after yet another Converge loss
“Wag nating anuhin ‘yung mga mistakes ng mga bata,” said Pineda. “Bata 'yan, player 'yan. Lahat naman nagkakamali. Wag po nating dalhin sa ganung sitwasyon. Bini-build ko po ‘yung confidence ng mga bata, ‘yung tiwala namin sa kanila. Ayaw naming tingnan ‘yung ganung sitwasyon.”
Pineda said injuries to Juan Gomez de Liano and Calvin Abueva have forced Stockton to play a bigger role in the team - and longer minutes than usually required, hinting that fatigue may be a factor in the mistakes.
“Siyempre ‘yung pagod ng bata, kulang kami ng rotation. Sometimes he plays one position, doon sa two, ‘yung minutes na nilalaro ng bata. Talagang kulang pa rin kami” said Pineda.
Pineda said other Converge players have also made mistakes, and expressed confidence that these will only make them, including Stockton, better.
“Hindi lang naman ho si Alec [ang nasa] ganitong sitwasyon. Maraming games na may mga players na nagkakamali pero pabayaan nating bumawi 'yung bata. Doon magma-mature ‘yung bata. Sa mga ganung sitwasyon, natututo,” said Pineda.
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