Change of culture priority for Tang; challenge is to get Blazers to respond

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

St. Benilde coach TY Tang knows the challenge that awaits him with the Blazers.

With the team in the cellar for the past two seasons, the rookie mentor knows that the goal for him this NCAA Season 93 is to take away the squad’s losing culture.

“We’ve been trying to change the environment for the most part. You can still see the immaturity in our team. I think now that we’ve been able to compete not just with NCAA teams, but also the UAAP teams, we’re not letting them get an easy win from us,” he said.

Tang shared that it’s been hard to get the shift in mentality without the team tasting victory. But he’s willing to play the long game with a brighter future of St. Benilde in mind.

“For the most part, the change of environment and culture has to be evident with us getting wins. If you don’t get wins, there’s no change in whatever you’re trying to build up with. But at the same time, the question for us is how are we’ll be able to get there? It’s a process wherein we got to keep explaining to them the small details, up to the nitty-gritty ones where we’re telling them why weren’t we able to get over that hump,” he said.

Despite the Blazers bowing out of the 2017 Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup with a paltry 1-7 record, Tang believes that the foundation has already been laid out and it’s now up to the players to continue staying on the path the coaches have paved for them.

“The challenge is making them respond to that. That’s something that us coaches, the whole coaching staff, has been trying to do for the longest time, for the last six months,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to polish it given a few more weeks entering the NCAA season.”