Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
If there’s one thing Columbian coach Ricky Dandan has been successful in doing in his short tenure of being in charge of the Dyip, it is instilling a winning attitude.
“It’s not the change in personnel, it’s the change in attitude,” said Dandan after Columbian’s recent conquest of the NLEX Road Warriors that put the Dyip on high gear in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
They set out for another upset on Friday and test their new-found confidence against a truly formidable side in the Alaska Aces at 4:30 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I have been talking to the guys to guard themselves from slipping back to the team’s old attitude,” said Dandan, who took over from Chris Gavina last season and had a 1-1 record in the Philippine Cup.
Out to foil the Dyip are the Aces, who are also in the process of fine-tuning their tendencies after nearly imploding the last time out.
Ahead by 30 against Blackwater over the weekend, the Aces let their guards down and saw the enemy come within seven, needing a big finishing kick to foil the Elite and notch a first win in two games.
“When you get a lead like that, the tendency is to be complacent,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton. “I need us stay focused throughout against Columbian. They’re a tough team to beat.”
The winless Road Warriors aim to get the job done this time against the Meralco Bolts in the second game at 7 p.m.
After an impressive showing in the Philippine Cup where the problem in chemistry seems to have already been addressed, the Road Warriors have opened up 0-2 and will be coming into the game still licking the wounds of a 98-97 defeat at the hands of Rain or Shine.
As for the Bolts (1-1), they are raring to bounce back from a narrow defeat inflicted by GlobalPort and ride with the early leaders.