MANILA, Philippines–NorthPort coach Pido Jarencio believes his team would’ve made a deeper run in the second conference had his charges didn’t meet San Miguel Beer early in the playoffs.
The animated mentor and the Batang Pier get a crack to prove they were just they when they begin their PBA Governors’ Cup campaign against Rain or Shine on Sept. 20 at MOA Arena in Pasay.
“San Miguel is San Miguel,” Jarencio said of the vaunted club, which crushed NorthPort’s twice-to-beat armor in the previous tournament’s quarterfinals.
“Had we faced another team, we would’ve defeated them,” he added in Filipino.
Jarencio, whose squad registered a franchise-best 9-2 record during that conference, looks to make that early exit a thing of the past with pieces he feels that are built for the future.
And that begins with his prized rookie Robert Bolick, who showed he is more than able during the Commissioner’s Cup, and just recently, in the FIBA World Cup in China.
“He knows this team well,” he added.
Aside from his young star, Jarencio feels that recent acquisition Jerramy King will also come in handy for their future exploits.
“He has that quickness—he can run, he can pressure. And that’s what our team is about,” he said of the former Columbian guard. “I am confident he can easily adapt to us.”
Much of acclimation to the team, though, will land on Mychal Ammon’s shoulders, NorthPort’s choice of import for the season-ending conference.
“There are still a lot that we’re only able to see during the games,” Jarencio said of his American reinforcement. “[But] he’s like Prince Ibeh in getting rebounds and helping in defense.”
For now, the NorthPort mentor prefers on worrying the most about their day-to-day growth.
“Our priority now is just to keep on improving. Both our defense and offense need to have a better flow,” he said.
Jarencio added that he is looking forward to the three players the club picked up from the Stanley Pringle trade.
Sol Mercado, Kevin Ferrer, and Jervy Cruz are expected to bolster Batang Pier’s bid for a deeper campaign while they await the full recovery of their frontcourt troopers, Bradwyn Guinto and skipper Sean Anthony.