Uichico faces defeat head-on

NLEX head coach Jong Uichico takes his defeat to TNT mentor Chot Reyes like a true gentleman.

Uichico conceded that he was outcoached as the top-seeded Road Warriors exited the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

NLEX was given the boot after a sorry 112-118 loss to the defending champion in the do-or-die quarters on Saturday at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.

“Talk ‘N Text had too many weapons against us. I was outcoached by Chot by trying to find those mismatches. We had no solution,” the Road Warriors tactician said.

The Tropang 5G’s Bol Bol proved too much for NLEX to contain, but the TNT locals also stepped up, which disrupted Uichico’s game plan.

RR Pogoy, Rey Nambatac, Calvin Oftana and Jayson Castro provided the extra firepower that complemented the explosiveness of 7-foot-3 Bol in a no-tomorrow match.  

“Pogoy, Oftana, Nambatac, all of them. They have the answer, they have someone to counter (our gameplan). That’s why they were able to lead by 20 points. We tried to fight back but it was too late,” Uichico said.

NLEX import Cade Lalanne had 46 points and 15 rebounds but could only do so much against a determined TNT side that has now entered a fifth straight Final Four.  

The Tropang 5G forced a sudden death following a hard-earned 96-93 escape last Wednesday after staving off the Road Warriors’ spirited rally from 10 points down in the final period.

Despite an unwanted early vacation, Uichico felt that NLEX is on the right direction.

“There’s always something positive to look at. If we remain consistent this way, we can advance to the semis sooner or later. If we are consistent in the top four,” he said.

“That means we’re getting stronger or we’re doing something correctly. Hopefully, if we are consistent in the top four, we’ll be able to get over this hump.”  

Already out of contention, Uichico is now focused on preparing for the Governors’ Cup.

“We’ll just give a break for a few weeks, but we don’t have an exact date yet when we’ll return for practice. But it won’t be that long. We’ll study that,” he said.