COLUMN: Bonnie Tan clueless after NorthPort's boom-to-bust finish
COLUMN: Bonnie Tan clueless after NorthPort’s boom-to-bust finish
CHICAGO – After beating TNT, 112-96, last April 5, NorthPort improved to 4-1 in the PBA Philippine Cup standings, just a shade behind league-leading San Miguel’s then 4-0 card.
The new kids were in the block. Hope blossomed and excitement filled the air as the franchise stood on the brink of another post-season appearance.
And then the Batang Pier collapsed like a smoker’s lung.
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They lost five straight between April 10 and April 24, a freefall that proved near fatal. A 115-112 win over Blackwater on April 27 gave life, only to be snuffed by Terrfirma last night during their KO match.
What happened?
“Hindi ko alam anong nangyari sa team, parang kulang kami sa energy. Hindi ko alam kung relaxed sila or pagod lang,” a mystified coach Bonnie Tan told SPIN.ph after NorthPort fell to Rain or Shine, 120-110, last April.
At that point the Batang Pier had lost three in a row in a span of seven nights, a tough stretch where fatigue can creep in. Complacency probably was a factor, too, given that they were on a four-game roll.
THE HITS KEPT COMING.
Two more losses, to San Miguel and Terrafirma, in the elimination round pretty much ruined the party for NorthPort, a team that was a shell of its once-dominant self when the Dyip ran them over in that do-or-die duel at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The quickest, laziest way to dissect the cause of a team’s demise is to blame the coach.
Not in this case,
What happened to the Batang Pier is not an indictment against Tan and his staff. The culprit was a myriad of different circumstances beyond Tan’s control.
louie sangalang northport terrafirma pba
PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
This PBA conference schedule is weird. NorthPort played four games from March 1 to 10 and then took a 26-day break before resuming their campaign. The lack of continuity disrupted their focus and on-court chemistry.
In the April 14 loss to Ginebra, the Batang Pier suffered a double whammy when JC Calma was lost for the season due to a torn ACL injury.
In the words of Arvin Tolentino, Calma was their “legit big,” a 6-foot-6, 193-pound bruiser who anchored their defense. Without him, NorthPort became less of a fort on defense and surrendered 114.2 points per in their last four elimination round games.
BRIGHT FUTURE.
Despite this tough break, the future looks bright for NorthPort with Josuah Munzon, Arvin Tolentio and Cade Flores on the roster.
Tan also has at his disposal two former collegiate stars in Fran Yu and John Amores who have brought their toughness to the PBA.
The prognosis for Calma’s return is 12 months, a long time before NorthPort can be whole again.
But it will be worth the wait.