Phoenix head coach Ariel Vanguardia. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Phoenix coach Ariel Vanguardia admitted that the team really missed the presence of Matthew Wright in its game against Meralco on Wednesday.
“We really felt it because he opens up the lane for Jameel (McKay) and he’s the second to RJ (Jazul) in assists for our team,” the mentor said following the Fuel Masters’ 81-66 defeat to the Bolts.
Vanguardia, though, shared that it’s a sacrifice the Fuel Masters are willing to take for the benefit of the national team.
“Ever since we got him in the draft, we knew that this will happen. We just have to live with it. For sure, there’ll be lots of tournaments after this, especially in the third conference, so we need to get used to him not being around.”
Wright, who is Phoenix’s starting small forward, has been such an integral part of the squad’s campaign this conference as he is averaging 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.4 steals in the five games he played in this 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Though the rookie’s contributions are a glaring dip from his averages in the first conference, Vanguardia noted that Wright’s presence alone could have made a difference, especially with the squad firing blanks for the game after shooting a measly 32-percent from the field.
Not helping was the poor shooting from his guards, with Jazul going 1-of-13 from the field while Cyrus Baguio shooting 4-of-10.
“We couldn’t score today. RJ couldn’t buy a bucket. We were lost in our flow of offense,” said Vanguardia. “We did okay on defense considering we were trying to make some stops, but the way Baser (Amer) and (Chris) Newsome were scoring, that’s the one thing we can’t stop.”
Despite the loss, Vanguardia still believes that Phoenix can adapt with its situation, especially with a game against GlobalPort slated on Friday.
“The good thing is we just have one day to prepare and we can bounce back on Friday,” he said. “We’re not really focusing on our loss because we got to get the next game. We have to figure out how to win without Matthew Wright. I think by Friday, we’ve already figured out how to play without him.”