Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
So frustrated was coach Boy Sablan in University of Santo Tomas’ humiliating 99-56 loss to La Salle last Sunday that he even went as far as calling out his players.
“Wala talaga eh. Unang-una, sabi ko nga sa inyo, lahat ng mga players ng UST ngayon, puro bench players yan. What do you expect? Wala talaga akong makuha,” he said.
Sablan said with the team being a mix of holdovers and newbies, he is forced to field a lot of players in a desperate search for production.
READ: La Salle earns Final 4 bonus, pounds UST anew with 43-point rout
“Every game, marami akong ginagamit na player dahil kailangan may mag-step up,” he said.
That experiment hasn’t quite paid off so far for the Growling Tigers, with the squad finishing dead last in scoring (66.5 points per game), defense (78.9 points allowed), and three-point shooting (21.1-percent clip).
From last year’s runner up finish, UST is on the brink of elimination from the Final Four picture with a 3-8 card after the 43-point defeat.
READ: La Salle pounces on sloppy UST for 38-point win
Despite the odds, the first-year coach hopes to draw positives in the Growling Tigers’s remaining games.
“Ganoon pa rin, kasi sa motivation, kailangang kausapin ko sila ng kausapin. This is the time na the mas kailangan naming mag-usap. It’s the time na mas kailangan i-encourage mo sila, the more na kailangan maintindihan nila yung mga pagkakamali, dapat maitama na natin,” he said.
UST returns to action on November 6 against UP.