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With Japeth Aguilar still nursing a hyperextended left elbow, it was evident Ginebra felt his absence in its 79-73 setback to Phoenix on Sunday.
But the players know it wasn’t Aguilar’s absence that caused their downfall, it was because they didn’t do enough to take home the win.
“We felt Japeth’s absence, but it’s not an excuse,” said veteran guard LA Tenorio. “Without Japeth, does that mean we’ll automatically lose? We’re playing for so long without Greg (Slaughter) but still we won a championship. It’s a matter of everyone to step up every game so it’s not an excuse.”
Scottie Thompson agreed: “Like coach Tim said, we all have to work hard. Yes, Japeth’s absence is big and we’re not used to not having him, but that shouldn’t be an excuse.”
The sophomore guard thinks that fatigue may have gotten the better of the Gin Kings after they played their second game in three days.
“We had back-to-back games and Friday’s game (against Blackwater) was also a tough one,” said Thompson. “We really fell short.”
With Phoenix clamping down on defense, Ginebra was limited to just 36-percent shooting and a paltry 2-of-22 clip from three.
Tenorio rued Ginebra’s missed opportunity to propel itself to the second spot as the Kings instead dropped to a joint seventh place with a 5-5 card.
“It’s a big loss for us. We don’t know what our situation will be. We still have one week to prepare and see what’s going to happen, so we’ll see,” he said.
The crafty playmaker is also wary of facing the also-ran NLEX next Sunday, with the Road Warriors going into the duel with nothing to lose.
“It’s harder to face those kinds of teams knowing that they’ll play without any pressure. It’s a do-or-die for us and we have no choice. For us, we really have to win the game,” said Tenorio.