Terrafirma head coach Johnedel Cardel. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Alex Cabagnot got injured. Matt Ganuelas-Rosser opted for free agency. Roosevelt Adams is planning a transfer to the Japan B.League.
Terrafirma is losing one important rotation player after another and coach Johnedel Cardel has somehow managed to see the bright side in all of this as his team prepares for the resumption of the PBA Governors’ Cup, tentatively scheduled early next month.
“[I]t’s not like this is new,” Cardel told the Inquirer on Friday. “We’re used to dealing with lineup [problems].”
This one, though, is hardly of the Dyip’s making. There were no players shipped away in head-scratching deals. Just bad breaks and better offers.
“I talked to Roose(velt) before the [stoppage] and he told me he has been getting offers to play in Japan for a good salary,” Cardel said.
“It’s as if I’ve lost a big chunk of my team’s [core],” he went on. “But we really have to move forward.”
“I’m sure there’s someone who will step up,” he added of the Dyip, who are at 1-4 (win-loss) in the season-ending tournament. “There’s a bunch of players raring to get minutes. And now, it seems they’re going to get that opportunity.”
Cabagnot, a veteran playmaker with robust championship pedigree, has been an all-around contributor for the team—he was averaging 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists over four matches before getting hurt.
Ganuelas-Rosser, a defensive ace and valuable locker room presence, was punching in five points and two steals an outing.
Adams, on the other hand, was being groomed as a franchise cornerstone since being drafted in 2019. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds before the league went on a break.
“They are key parts of this team, no doubt. We’re on a rebuilding phase and we were hoping to be a better lot,” Cardel said. “But some things are really beyond our control,” he went on.
Cardel said he expects Joshua Munzon, his foremost playmaker Juami Tiongson and import Antonio Hester to go all out for the Dyip.