Kia simply ‘gave up’ against Blackwater, says Dandan

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Kia had every motivation in the world to claim the victory over Blackwater on Friday.

Wearing black tapes on the upper left part of their jerseys, the team dedicated the game to the wife of team manager Joe Lipa, who passed away on Thursday.

But to coach Ricky Dandan’s disappointment, his side couldn’t get the job done as the Picanto fell on the way side and allowed the Elite to run away with the 95-76 conquest.

“We gave up,” he said. “Of course, we wanted to dedicate this game to her, but it didn’t happen.”

Dandan saw a complete lack of effort from his team, which unraveling in the second half where it started at a 26-point deficit, 94-68, late in the game.

Kia was outplayed at all fronts with Blackwater winning the boards (56-40), getting more second chance points (23-6), and dishing out more assists (22-11).

And Dandan made sure that his players knew exactly what happened. “I told them they gave up. There’s no other reason.”

Sitting at 1-8, Kia has been formally eliminated from playoff contention in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup.

Dandan, though, is hopeful that losses like this could serve as a lesson for the young Picanto team going into their last two assignments against GlobalPort and league leader San Miguel.

“We were in there, but we gave up. Even if we’re out of the playoffs, we talked about ending this conference on a good note. I don’t know. We just gave up,” he said before storming out of the venue.