Franz Pumaren. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Despite being the leading voice in GlobalPort huddles, coach Franz Pumaren reaffirmed his position that he’s only there as a consultant for the team.
“I’m just here to help out the team,” he said on Saturday after the Batang Pier fell to Ginebra, 93-81.
Hired in the offseason, Pumaren has taken an active role in the team’s buildup for the season-ending conference.
But the Adamson head coach insisted that it is not him who replaced coach Pido Jarencio in the leading tactician role, but rather, new head coach Johnedel Cardel.
“I’m basically here to help out, whatever experience that I have,” he said.
Jarencio has been elevated as the team’s head of basketball operations.
Pumaren made it clear that his familiarity with a number of players in the Batang Pier roster will help in making the transition easier, as he tries to weave the same magic he did before with the now-defunct Air21 franchise.
“At least, most of these players, I’ve coached before and most of the players, I’ve watched them. So I’m here to give them guiding hand, more or less,” he said.
Dominique Sutton was Pumaren’s import back in the 2014 Governors’ Cup, while Joseph Yeo, Rico Maierhofer, and Papot Paredes all played for him in La Salle.
There’s still a lot to be desired for Pumaren, though, as he zoomed the obvious lack of contribution coming from the bench with the Gin Kings outscoring the Batang Pier, 56-20.
“For 42 minutes, we competed, but the glaring problem was the bench contribution. With Yeo getting hurt, it threw us off our rotation,” he said, especially pointing out to Karl Dehesa, whom he wishes to get more production in the next game.
“With the way he played, it was not the real Karl Dehesa that we expected,” Pumaren said of the gunner, who had a measly two points on a paltry 1-of-7 shooting from the field. “But of course, being a professional, he can be able to bounce back hopefully for the next game.” JE