Caidic not afraid to fail
May 27, 2003 | 12:00am
The morning after Barangay Ginebra eked out a 69-64 decision over Shell to qualify for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino Cup quarterfinals, Kings coach Allan Caidic was back to work.
The players took the day off but the coaching staff was closeted in a war room, watching tape, scribbling game notes, and preparing for the start of the quarterfinals on either June 4 or 6.
"Dumaan kami sa butas ng karayom," said Caidic yesterday. "Our initial goal was to make it to the quarterfinals by at least splitting all our games and beating Shell twice which was important because were in the same group. So our target was to win 10 games. We finished four wins short kasi we were swept by Coca-Cola, Alaska, San Miguel, and Red Bull. We had at least four heartbreaking losses kaya we were within our goal. Luckily, nakapasok pa kami sa quarterfinals even if we did it not the way we wanted. Sa next phase, weve got to win at least two of three games. Its hard to sweep but well try our best."
Surviving was a big relief for Caidic who confessed he was under tremendous pressure to deliver.
"I would be a hypocrite to say all that criticisms didnt affect me or my family," he said. "Na-test ang patience ko. You know naman my personality, Im intense and temperamental. Kung four or five years ago nangyari ito sa akin, malamang may kaso na ako. This experience was an all-time low for me in terms of criticism. On TV, the newspapers, text, sa kalye, everybody had something to say negative tungkol sa akin. It was like I couldnt do anything right."
Despite the brickbats, Caidic said the thought of resigning never entered his mind.
"Im not afraid to fail," he continued, "Im not a quitter. I just want to prove myselfthat I can do the job. If I quit, it will haunt me the rest of my life. I told myself, no matter what happens, Ill just try my best. If my best isnt good enough, I can take the consequences. Taas-noo ako because I know I did my best."
Caidic said he wouldnt have survived without the trust of Ginebra management, the support of the players and coaching staff, his family, and of course, the Lord.
"I owe it all to Him up there," he said. "The day of our game against Shell, I went to 12 noon Mass at Mount Carmel with my family. Wala naman mga taong lumapit sa church kasi regular kami roon. We prayed for His help to get us through."
Before the game, Caidic said he told the players to treat it like the championship was on the line.
"We got a big lift from Red Bull kasi it came down to a do-or-die instead of a twice to beat," explained Caidic. "I told the guys its all up to us. Forget the Xs and Os. Its all about desire which team wants it more. No tomorrow na ito."
At the half, Shell led by three and Caidic regrouped his charges in the dugout. "I told the guys to look at the score," he related. "We were down by three even if we struggled offensively. Our defense held Shell to only 32 so that was a good sign. Things will change in the second half. I told the guys to focus on defense, not to quit. We wanted to stop (Dale) Singson."
In the end, Caidic was ecstatic. "I told the guys we just have three games in the quarterfinals, that we shouldnt be content making it to the next level," he said. "We were given the chance to advance so we should make the most of the opportunity. We made some adjustments in defense late in the game, like doubling Singson and using zone."
Caidic said the long wait before the start of the quarterfinals may make the Kings stale. Today, they return to the gym to prepare for the next grind.
"Well use the layoff to work on adjustments during practice and to recover from injuriessina Bal (David) at Mark Caguioa) suffered slight sprains in the Shell game at si Elmer (Lago) is in the injured list because of his heel, kaya we reactivated Gilbert (Malabanan)," said Caidic. "Masaya kami, siyempre, kasi we made it to the quarterfinals at back to zero kami. Three games are nexteach one, we should treat like a do-or-die kasi theres no time to recover from a loss."
Caidic talked about Ginebras chances in the quarterfinals.
"Against Red Bull in the eliminations, we kept on doubling DaVonn (Harp) kaya pinatay naman kami sa labas," he mused. "We cant afford to play uptempo because thats their strength. Weve got to avoid turnovers and play good transition defense. We match up well against Talk N Text. Asi (Taulava) and Jimmy (Alapag) are their key players. We cant stop them completely but we can contain them. Weve also got to watch their new guys. Coca-Colas strength is quickness. Even their big guys like (Rafi) Reavis, (Poch) Juinio, and Rudy (Hatfield) are quick. Thats our disadvantage because we arent as quick so we have to play tougher defense to take away their quickness."
Caidic said hes not promising a slot in the semifinals. What hes promising is the Kings will play their best to move up to the Final Four.
What makes Ginebra a dangerous proposition in the playoffs is once it gets going, its difficult to stop because the crowd fuels the teams momentum. Now that the Kings are in the quarterfinals, theres no telling how far theyll go.
The players took the day off but the coaching staff was closeted in a war room, watching tape, scribbling game notes, and preparing for the start of the quarterfinals on either June 4 or 6.
"Dumaan kami sa butas ng karayom," said Caidic yesterday. "Our initial goal was to make it to the quarterfinals by at least splitting all our games and beating Shell twice which was important because were in the same group. So our target was to win 10 games. We finished four wins short kasi we were swept by Coca-Cola, Alaska, San Miguel, and Red Bull. We had at least four heartbreaking losses kaya we were within our goal. Luckily, nakapasok pa kami sa quarterfinals even if we did it not the way we wanted. Sa next phase, weve got to win at least two of three games. Its hard to sweep but well try our best."
Surviving was a big relief for Caidic who confessed he was under tremendous pressure to deliver.
"I would be a hypocrite to say all that criticisms didnt affect me or my family," he said. "Na-test ang patience ko. You know naman my personality, Im intense and temperamental. Kung four or five years ago nangyari ito sa akin, malamang may kaso na ako. This experience was an all-time low for me in terms of criticism. On TV, the newspapers, text, sa kalye, everybody had something to say negative tungkol sa akin. It was like I couldnt do anything right."
Despite the brickbats, Caidic said the thought of resigning never entered his mind.
"Im not afraid to fail," he continued, "Im not a quitter. I just want to prove myselfthat I can do the job. If I quit, it will haunt me the rest of my life. I told myself, no matter what happens, Ill just try my best. If my best isnt good enough, I can take the consequences. Taas-noo ako because I know I did my best."
Caidic said he wouldnt have survived without the trust of Ginebra management, the support of the players and coaching staff, his family, and of course, the Lord.
"I owe it all to Him up there," he said. "The day of our game against Shell, I went to 12 noon Mass at Mount Carmel with my family. Wala naman mga taong lumapit sa church kasi regular kami roon. We prayed for His help to get us through."
Before the game, Caidic said he told the players to treat it like the championship was on the line.
"We got a big lift from Red Bull kasi it came down to a do-or-die instead of a twice to beat," explained Caidic. "I told the guys its all up to us. Forget the Xs and Os. Its all about desire which team wants it more. No tomorrow na ito."
At the half, Shell led by three and Caidic regrouped his charges in the dugout. "I told the guys to look at the score," he related. "We were down by three even if we struggled offensively. Our defense held Shell to only 32 so that was a good sign. Things will change in the second half. I told the guys to focus on defense, not to quit. We wanted to stop (Dale) Singson."
In the end, Caidic was ecstatic. "I told the guys we just have three games in the quarterfinals, that we shouldnt be content making it to the next level," he said. "We were given the chance to advance so we should make the most of the opportunity. We made some adjustments in defense late in the game, like doubling Singson and using zone."
Caidic said the long wait before the start of the quarterfinals may make the Kings stale. Today, they return to the gym to prepare for the next grind.
"Well use the layoff to work on adjustments during practice and to recover from injuriessina Bal (David) at Mark Caguioa) suffered slight sprains in the Shell game at si Elmer (Lago) is in the injured list because of his heel, kaya we reactivated Gilbert (Malabanan)," said Caidic. "Masaya kami, siyempre, kasi we made it to the quarterfinals at back to zero kami. Three games are nexteach one, we should treat like a do-or-die kasi theres no time to recover from a loss."
Caidic talked about Ginebras chances in the quarterfinals.
"Against Red Bull in the eliminations, we kept on doubling DaVonn (Harp) kaya pinatay naman kami sa labas," he mused. "We cant afford to play uptempo because thats their strength. Weve got to avoid turnovers and play good transition defense. We match up well against Talk N Text. Asi (Taulava) and Jimmy (Alapag) are their key players. We cant stop them completely but we can contain them. Weve also got to watch their new guys. Coca-Colas strength is quickness. Even their big guys like (Rafi) Reavis, (Poch) Juinio, and Rudy (Hatfield) are quick. Thats our disadvantage because we arent as quick so we have to play tougher defense to take away their quickness."
Caidic said hes not promising a slot in the semifinals. What hes promising is the Kings will play their best to move up to the Final Four.
What makes Ginebra a dangerous proposition in the playoffs is once it gets going, its difficult to stop because the crowd fuels the teams momentum. Now that the Kings are in the quarterfinals, theres no telling how far theyll go.
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