Ginebra back on track

MANILA, Philippines - After back-to-back wins, Ginebra San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen yesterday heaved a sigh of relief but said the Barangay isn’t out of the woods in the race to avoid elimination in the PBA Philippine Cup.

So far, Ginebra is 4-5 with five games left in the eliminations – Alaska on Sunday, Rain Or Shine on Nov. 25, Air 21 on Nov. 30, Barako Bull on Dec. 2 and Talk ‘N’ Text on Dec. 9. Two of the league’s 10 clubs will take an early leave before the start of the playoffs. Ginebra had a blistering 2-0 start then lost five in a row. Now, the Barangay is coming off two straight wins over Global Port and the Texters.

“Quitting never crossed my mind when we lost five in a row,” said Tanquingcen. “During my first year as coach in 2004, we also lost five in a row. It was a humbling experience but you learn from your mistakes. That’s when I came to know God. I don’t think I would’ve lasted then and now if not for my faith. You do your part and leave everything up to God. My faith keeps my sanity. I don’t have a twitter account and I don’t read what people tweet. I know it’s the electronic age but I don’t want to be distracted. I know what I have to do and I’ll always try my best to do a good job with faith in my heart.”

Tanquingcen said the key to a successful basketball program is to get all the players to buy into one system. “Those five losses were like a nightmare but I consider it a wake-up call,” he said. “What turned things around was everyone understanding what his role is. Before the season started and when we got off to a 2-0 start, I think we felt a false sense of security. Expectations were high that we would do well with L. A. (Tenorio) in our team. The hype was incredible. But we realized that if we aren’t all on the same page, it’ll be difficult to win consistently.”

Tanquingcen said managing players is a challenge but it’s a responsibility that comes with the territory of a head coach. “I think we’re all born leaders, all of us are leaders in our own way,” he said. “With our team, I treat everybody the same way. I try to be fair to all. However, I talk to some differently from the others because of sensitivities. I listen to everybody’s opinions. But at the end of the day, we’ve all got to buy into one system, one direction. Mark (Caguioa) is our captain and we expect him to lead by example. Jay-Jay (Helterbrand), Kerby (Raymundo) and L. A. are leaders, too. When we brought L. A. in, I told him not just to fit in but to assert himself. If we just wanted someone to fit in, we would’ve gotten a role player, not someone like L. A.”

Since beating Global Port and Talk ‘N’ Text, Tanquingcen said the Barangay’s morale has shot up sky high. “We’re now on the same page, we’re buying into one direction,” he said. “It’s showing at practice and how we play. We’ve got to help each other out, trust one another, no one player can make us win but as a team and if we’re on the same page, we can go far.”

Against Talk ‘N’ Text, Tanquingcen said not too many fans thought the Barangay had a chance to win but Ginebra pulled it off. Rudy Hatfield reemerged to collect conference highs of 12 points and 13 rebounds. When Tenorio, Helterbrand and Caguioa played together on the floor, the fans went crazy.

“Rudy’s always been a warrior and he’s self-motivated,” said Tanquingcen. “It’s great to see him play the way he did against Talk ‘N’ Text. As for our three rookies (Chris Ellis, Keith Jensen, Yousef Taha), we like their youth and energy, particularly in defense. They’re realizing this is the PBA not the D-League, that they’re now playing with the big boys so it’s a learning process.”

Trading Mike Cortez was a difficult decision, admitted Tanquingcen, but it had to be done for his sake. “There’s no doubt Mike is a quality player but with L. A., we knew it wouldn’t be fair to keep them both,” said Tanquingcen. “As (assistant) coach Juno (Sauler) mentioned, sometimes less is more. Mike deserves minutes and I’m happy that he’s getting minutes with Air 21.”

Tanquingcen said his job is easier because of the Barangay coaching staff. “Coach Al (Chua) gets the players fired up because of his emotional and aggressive approach,” he said. “I rely on Coach Allan (Caidic) because of his experience as a player – he knows whom to send in, whom to pull out. Coach Art (de la Cruz) and coach Freddie (Abuda) were defensive players so their inputs on defense are important. Coach Juno, I call him the Renaissance Man. He does so many things for our team, he understands concepts, he speaks well. Someday, he’ll be a head coach in the PBA. He can even sing, play the piano and guitar. He helps us out in many ways.”

Tanquingcen said Dylan Ababou’s absence will hurt but it’s a test of Ginebra’s resiliency. Ababou will be out six to eight months to recover from knee surgery. As for Allein Maliksi, Tanquingcen said he’ll be ready next game. Maliksi suffered an ankle sprain in a freak accident playing with a fan after practice and has sat out four contests.