Mapua head coach Atoy Co. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Mapua coach Atoy Co is setting a high standard for his wards this NCAA Season 92.
For every missed free throw, a player owes the coach 20 push-ups as he hopes to improve the team’s shooting this year.
The Cardinals failed to take on that challenge in their opening game, going 22-of-36 from the charity stripe. Fortunately, they were able to come out with the gritty 74-71 on JRU on Saturday.
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“I’m giving them that punishment now,” Co said.
No one will be spared from the Cardinals, even if the team came up with the victory, as CJ Isit, one of the guys who was key in the victory, has gone 8-of-12 on his freebies.
The shooter, however, assured his coach of paying his dues, as he said, “I got you, coach.”
However, Co remains defiant as he attributed the bad shooting night to the pressure of going back to the grind on the first game day of the season.
“We did not play our usual game and it’s understandable because of opening day jitters,” he said.
He’s keeping the rule, though, as he sees the team slowly improving as the tournament rolls on.
“Even during our practice and during our tune-up games, I did know that our free throws sucked. Kung gumanda ‘yung shooting namin, hindi dapat ganun ka-close ‘yung game (If only we made our free throws, then the game would not have been that close) and we could’ve beaten them easily. It’s just that our shooters can’t make their shots,” Co said. IDL