^

Sports

No, nothing’s wrong with Archers — Franz

-
You can always tell that there’s something wrong when it takes a coach almost two hours to come out of the locker room after a game.

But when Franz Pumaren and his battery of assistants did, long after La Salle had absorbed a humiliating 82-79 loss to giant killer University of the East last Saturday, the conventional, four-time champion coach in the UAAP insisted that there was none.

Pumaren said there was nothing wrong that La Salle, after their third loss in seven games, had fallen to their worst first-round record under his watch. He also said there was nothing wrong in spite of those nasty rumors being spread that he’s on the way out as coach of the Green Archers.

"I think we’re still in good shape. I think we’re still on the right track. I still honestly believe that we’re a better team compared to our current standing," he told scribes who patiently waited for him and his staff, including ex-PBA players Joshua Villapando and Jack Santiago, to emerge from the dugout.

The La Salle players had all left the dugout when Pumaren ordered the meeting. As the young Pumaren kids played in the hallway and opened the door from time to time, Pumaren was seen glued on his chair talking as his assistants stood quietly in front, arms over their chests, as if a mass was going on.

As he stepped out later on, Pumaren seemed surprised to find a group of scribes still waiting for him just outside. He allowed to be interviewed.

"There’s no need for us to push the panic button. Yes, we lost three but they were all close games. I think we’re still in great shape. And each game like this will be a learning process for us," he said.

Against the Warriors, Pumaren surprised a lot when he used Paul Maierhofer, a lanky 6-foot-5 forward who hardly stepped on the court, except during warm-up, in La Salle’s recent games, longer than Jun Cabatu, a 6-foot-4 forward and a normal part of the rotation.

Pumaren simply said it was a coach’s decision.

"Cabatu? He’s not doing anything. Look at the performance of Maierhofer. He really played well. What will I do with somebody like Cabatu who’s not playing well. One rebound eh. With me, if you play well, you stay inside the court," he said.

Maierhofer saw action for 20 minutes and delivered eight points, six rebounds, an assist and a steal, with three fouls and just a single turnover. He was already out of breath when pulled out in the final two minutes in favor of Cabatu who, in 14 minutes, went 0-2 from the field, 0-of-2 from the stripe, had a rebound, a block and three fouls.

Main man Marc Cardona, who’s good for at least 30 minutes, was used for only 22 minutes, and scored 14 points, had three rebounds and two assists. But he committed a game-high eight turnovers. He watched from the bench as the Warriors sealed the victory that rocked the 67th UAAP season.

Then Pumaren, in his trademark white polo shirt, blue jeans and nice Italian shoes, talked about those nasty rumors. He just laughed it off.

"That’s an old issue. It’s a rehash. It’s been said five years ago. These people trying to drumbeat this thing has their own personal agenda. I think there’s just some people floating the news. It’s a rehash that’s trying to sow dissention or intrigue within us," he said.

"My point is, modesty aside, I don’t think they can say anything technical about what I’m doing. If I’m performing bad then it’s with them. I think it’s the same with Ateneo. If they’re losing then I don’t think they’d be happy with their coach," added the former PBA point guard who’s also a topnotch Quezon City councilor.

What took them so long to emerge from the dugout?

"Oh, we talked about the plans for the coming games and things we need to do. We lost three games by an average of two to three points – Ateneo by three, Adamson by two and now UE by three. So maybe we can use this as a rallying point. That we try not to lose these type of games down the stretch.

"Again, we lost some close games and we have to make sure that in the next round we can rise up to the challenge. It’s all about challenges. I think we’re really in good shape," he said.

Everything remains to be seen then. — Abac Cordero

ABAC CORDERO

AGAINST THE WARRIORS

ATENEO

CABATU

FRANZ PUMAREN

GAMES

LA SALLE

PUMAREN

THINK

THREE

  • Latest
  • Trending
Latest
Recommended
Are you sure you want to log out?
X
Login

Philstar.com is one of the most vibrant, opinionated, discerning communities of readers on cyberspace. With your meaningful insights, help shape the stories that can shape the country. Sign up now!

Get Updated:

Signup for the News Round now

FORGOT PASSWORD?
SIGN IN
or sign in with
-->