TERRAFIRMA coach Johnedel Cardel is looking forward to next season’s PBA Rookie Draft, a chance for the Dyip to continue improving their lineup following an encouraging campaign in the Season 48 Philippine Cup.
Cardel noted the importance of adding more depth to the team following the Dyip’s surprising campaign in the Philippine Cup where they fell one victory short of reaching the semifinals, losing to San Miguel in a knockout game.
Terrafirma’s needs
“As of now, hindi pa namin alam kung four or five kami. Kung ano ‘yung kulang ng team namin, pag-uusapan namin ng mga coaches and the bosses,” said Cardel.
For the coming draft, Terrafirma won’t be picking first after its solid showing in the 48th Season but Cardel is confident that the Dyip can still grab a player that could help the team.
The Dyip coach said one of their primary needs is a guard who can serve as a back-up to their top scorers Juami Tiongson and Stephen Holt.
Tiongson and Holt averaged 22.1 and 21.1 points during the recent conference, but normed 39.7 and 41.6 minutes respectively during the Philippine Cup.
“Maybe a five, another point guard na malaki para makapagpahinga si Holt at Juami. And maybe another shooter,” said Cardel.
Aside from Holt, Terrafirma picked up key pieces during the Season 48 draft that added depth to the team in Kemark Carino and Louie Sangalang, who were picked in the second round,
Hopeful that same group stays
For his part, Tiongson is optimistic about the future of the team with the chemistry that has been built by the team.
“Hopefully, we can add more pieces from the draft or sa free agency. Hopefully, we can run it back with the same group,” said Tiongson.
Tiongson also noted the improvement of the other players such as Isaac Go that helped turned the team's fortunes around.
“’Yung chemistry namin nandiyan na. ‘Yung veteran smarts, nandiyan na. Sobrang laking bagay ni Isaac Go. The way he stepped up in the conference. The way he improved this conference, sobrang laking bagay,” said Tiongson.
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