Pumaren admits Globalport has ‘very shallow bench’

Globalport coach Franz Pumaren. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Though coach Franz Pumaren is happy with how GlobalPort fared in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup, he acknowledged that the team’s biggest weakness is definitely depth.

“I think overall we did pretty well considering our lineup. But I guess in this game, it showed the depth of our opponent and the experience of our opponent,” he said.

The Batang Pier bowed out of the conference with a 95-90 defeat to TNT on Monday as they got swept in the quarterfinals.

Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle anchored the team for this conference and had respectable help coming from guys like JR Quinahan, Nino Canaleta, Mike Cortez, and Billy Mamaril, but Pumaren thinks that GlobalPort needs a little more boost coming from its reserves.

“Even before the start of the season, I’ve been telling management that this team, we’re a playoff contender. But for us to move forward, we need at least two to three more players to fill in those gaps. The series against TNT, I think, is a strong validation that we have a very shallow bench,” he said.

Pumaren said he won’t have second thoughts in making moves during the conference break as he seeks to find the right mix of locals for the Batang Pier.

“If there’s an opportunity (to make trades), why not? That’s part and parcel of me being a head coach, to make sure to improve each conference,” he said.

But before Pumaren does, he has consult the management the management and make an assessment of their needs in preparation for the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

“Right now with GlobalPort, I have a free hand in trying to make some movements, and even in trades, I make sure I’m on top of everything. But definitely within this week, I’ll be sitting down with management,” he said. “This is just a learning chapter for us, for us to compete with the big boys. At the end of the day, we still need players.”