Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
“Prove them wrong.”
Coach Chris Gavina proudly wore a shirt with those words printed in front heading into Kia’s season opener against NLEX.
But for the youthful mentor, it’s not just a statement but also a mindset for his embattled Picanto crew as they enter the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup without any expectations but with a lot of doubters.
“I wore this for a reason today. I told everybody, ‘Prove everybody wrong today.’ I told them you have no idea how many people have doubted us but you know I gave everybody this baller early in our season that says, ‘Nothing’s impossible with God,’ and that’s the mindset going in,” Gavina said as he once again donned that shirt on his way out of Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
And if this first game against the Road Warriors is any indication, the Picanto’s unconventional ways could be taken seriously as they pushed their opponents to the limit before bowing in the end, 119-115.
Gavina couldn’t stop himself from lauding his wards for the grit they showed, even if they entered the game as heavy underdogs.
“We had tremendous energy coming into this game. We’ve been really praising our guys with regards to their confidence level. Almost,” he said.
“Effort-wise, we were there. It just came down to they executed better than us. For us to control the time with the lead – I think something about 32 minutes – goes to show that we’re more than capable of keeping up with a high-scoring team like that.”
Eric Camson and new recruits Rashawn McCarthy and JayR Reyes gave Kia huge lift in the endgame as they stayed in step with NLEX in the clutch.
Still, Gavina believes the game was a good building block for his team going forward as Kia seeks to shock a few teams this season.
“As a coach, you kind of hate to say moral victory, but considering what happened to us last conference, we showed our grit tonight. We showed a great deal of character in being able to keep up with what I feel is one of the contenders coming into this conference, so if we can do this against NLEX, we can do this against anybody,” he said.
Kia takes a week-long breather before facing Phoenix at Ynares Center in Antipolo next Wednesday.