Star head coach Jason Webb. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Even Marc Pingris admits to falling into the trap of dwelling on the past.
The energetic forward said it took a while before he recovered from the departure of erstwhile mentor Tim Cone, which affected how he performed under rookie coach Jason Webb.
“Dati, di ako makalaro ng maayos dahil siguro nawala si coach Tim (Cone). Nag-focus ako doon instead of mag-focus kay coach Jason sa mga balak nya sa games. Mas nag-focus ako sa sarili ko kaya ang pangit ng ginawa ko,” he said.
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Pingris have repeatedly admitted his frustrations with the team before, which was made worse by his grief over the sudden departure Cone.
That came as Star performed poorly, struggling in the Philippine Cup and stumbling to a 1-4 card in the ongoing conference.
But after the recent string of wins, which was the Hotshots’ and Webb’s first back-to-back of the season, times may be changing for the proud franchise.
“Ngayon, kung ano yung gusto ni coach Jason, sinusunod ko. Nandoon na yung communication namin sa isa’t isa,” said Pingris. “Ni-let go ko na yung nangyari kasi ganun talaga ang buhay. Sya na ang tinuturing kong coach ngayon. Hawak nya yung buhay naming mga player. Walang iba kundi si coach Jason. Naniniwala kami, win or lose, sa kanya.”
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And on the heels of Star’s 91-75 win over Phoenix, all Star feels right now is positivity.
“Syempre masaya kami kasi parang bumabalik na yung laro namin, nakukuha na ulit namin yung laro ng isa’t isa,” Pingris said.
But just like how Cone humbles his wards when the team won those championships, the emotional leader of the team knows that this is not yet the end point for the Hotshots.
“Marami pa kaming dapat iimprove sa laro at practice,” said Pingris. “Masaya ako na nandoon na yung laro at connection namin kay coach Jason dahil yun yung talagang nawala. Ngayon, maganda na yung usapan kaya lumalabas sa laro namin.”