Rosales bites bullet to reboot

MANILA, Philippines — Terrafirma PBA Governor Bobby Rosales said yesterday the trigger point in making the CJ Perez trade was dropping to last place in the recent Clark bubble with a “painful” 1-10 record as it accentuated the urgency of reconfiguring both the players’ lineup and coaching staff to turn things around.

“The bubble experience was very disappointing,” said Rosales. “Pikon ako kung natatalo kami. Top management was concerned, to say the least. Nobody likes to lose, nobody enjoys being in the cellar. CJ’s a great player, we don’t have a problem with him but we couldn’t win even with him. So we decided to restructure. We’ve got the first overall pick in the draft but we don’t have a pick in the second round. Teams are protective of their first pick because of the rich draft. I consulted our coaching staff. We agreed to address our lack of depth and reboot.”

For Terrafirma’s first pick, Rosales said Joshua Munzon is the consensus choice. “Joshua’s like CJ in many ways, both athletic but Joshua has more range,” he continued. “It’s unfair to put all the burden on CJ because everyone has his limits, he can’t do everything. We didn’t want to pass up the opportunity of getting another first round pick in this deep draft. Joshua has played with (Roosevelt) Adams and we think with another first round pick plus added depth, we’ll have a better than even chance to be competitive. Of course, nobody can guarantee anything in sports.”

Rosales said to get the ball rolling, he sent out feelers on a possible trade. “I wanted a win-win,” he said. “With San Miguel Beer, I happened to mention to (Governor) Robert (Non) about our situation. If we could get San Miguel’s first round pick, the eighth overall, we’ll be able to draft a big guy, 6-8 or up, someone to battle the bigs of San Miguel, Ginebra, NorthPort and the rest.  There are guys like James Laput, Troy Rike and Ken Holmquist who are available. For depth, we like Matt Ganuelas Rosser for his defense, Gelo Alolino who hasn’t blossomed yet in the PBA but I’m familiar with how he played at NU and Russel Escoto who has ceiling and familiarity with our team. It’s been our frustration that we play well in the first two quarters then collapse in the second half. With this trade, we hope to be consistent.”

Rosales said bringing in Gian Nazario and Ronald Tubid to back up head coach Johnedel Cardel was another reboot. “I like John’s leadership,” he said. “We would’ve sent him to the US for learning but the pandemic got in the way. It will happen with a better normal. I’ve told John hindi pwedeng malambot ang dating. How you practice is how you play the game. We want players to practice hard because that will translate into a stronger game. We revamped the coaching staff to bring in Gian and Ronald. Gian came highly recommended and he’ll stay with La Salle while working with us.  Ronald played for us before. He’s a veteran, guys listen to him, he has skills to teach, is emphatic and hates to lose. I remember once in our lockerroom, he spoke up saying nahihiya siya pag talo ng talo. He’s like family, he knows my son, his children know my grandchildren. I’ve changed our videographer and I’m still looking for a strength and conditioning coach. We’re building chemistry.”

Rosales said because of Perez’ star quality, he understands why some fans are finding it difficult to appreciate the trade. “I have nothing against criticism and I encourage debate with fans but let’s be respectful of each other and avoid being cruel in bashing,” he said. “Don’t add any angle or slant to this trade. I notice how some fans are so vocal about it but that just shows their passion for the game and the PBA.  We’re spending a lot for our team to win, not to lose. We’re doing the best we can to break out of the cellar.”