Tanquingcen apologizes to Kings fans

Barangay Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen yesterday apologized to the Kings’ legion of fans for the team’s failure to advance to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) San Mig Coffee Fiesta Conference finals.

Ginebra came back from a 1-3 series deficit to force a Game 7 against Red Bull in the semifinals but lost an 83-79 decision to the Barakos in the clincher at the Araneta Coliseum last Sunday.

"I apologize to the fans," said Tanquingcen. "I know their expectations were high. I was not able to deliver to the fans and our team management. I’m just hoping that in time, masusuklian namin sila for their support, patience and confidence."

Tanquingcen, 33, had no excuses for the loss and said a limited rotation was not a factor in the Red Bull series. The Kings lost center Andy Seigle four days before Game 1 when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee at practice. Seigle will be out for at least six months and will sit out the next conference.

"To be honest, there’s a lot to improve on," said Tanquingcen. "This was a learning experience for us, particularly the coaches. This will make us together next time. There were poor decisions made, like in Game 4 which we lost by three. I felt I should’ve called a timeout late in the game to map out a play. If we won, the series would’ve been tied and we wouldn’t have gone down 1-3."

Execution is what Tanquingcen said the Kings will work on.

"We tend to rely heavily on our individual talent," said Tanquingcen. "We’ve got to learn how to use our talent to execute our plays with teamwork. As the Red Bull series went on, I tightened our rotation and began to play most of the guys in our two championship teams, except for Mac (Mark Macapagal) who’s a good defender and scorer. I like Mac because he competes and gives us diversity. Not that the other guys don’t compete because they all do. It’s just that in the Red Bull series, it wasn’t so much about mismatches and Mac was a better fit in our system."

Tanquingcen admitted that Mark Caguioa was far from healthy in the series.

"We kept it a secret but Mark was hampered by a hamstring injury," he continued. "He was playing 60 percent. But he’s a true warrior. He never complained of the pain. He would even ask me to put him on the other team’s best offensive player. Because of the pain, he wasn’t as explosive and quick. And it showed in his stats."

Caguioa averaged only 9.8 points in the last six games of the Red Bull series. He hit at an 18.3 clip in the double-round classifications.

As for Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Tanquingcen said the long grind finally took its toll on the Kings’ floor leader.

"He hasn’t had any time off since recovering from his shin injury," said Tanquingcen. "From the Philippine Cup, he went straight to the national team then we started playing this conference. It had to be the wear and tear, more the mental fatigue. Sometimes, he practiced twice a day. The body can only take so much. He struggled against Red Bull (he didn’t score in double figures the last three games). His mother surprised him when she arrived from the US for Game 6 and that was a big boost for him."