KIA, the team formerly known as Mahindra, has kept its cards close to its chest in-between conferences and Phoenix coach Ariel Vanguardia knows there’s a very good reason for this.
So Vanguardia wants his Fuel Masters to be on their toes when they take on the Picanto Wednesday in the game kicking off the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’ve got to be ready for any Kia surprise. They did not play any tuneup game so we will adjust,” said Vanguardia on the eve of the match.
Indeed, the Picanto aim to pick up from where they left off in the Commissioner’s Cup, when they won two of their last three games.
Coach Chris Gavina also got an additional motivational tool from an energy drink commercial.
Sponsored content:
“I’ve brought the new Gatorade commercial to my team that reinforces ‘What’s the secret to success?’ And the commercial ends with ‘Let defeat fuel your fire,’” related Gavina, whose team finished with identical 3-8 win-loss records in each of the first two conferences for the season.
“We definitely have had our share of losses these past two conferences but with the way we finished the last conference… allowed us to see what we could accomplish and we’re now allowing our previous defeats fuel us to play at a higher and more consistent playing level,” added Gavina.
Phoenix, which fared only slightly better in the mid-season tournament, would be leaning heavily on the prolific Eugene Phelps as the Fuel Masters intend to start strong and sustain the attack from there.
“We’ve got to give them problems early,” stated Vanguardia.
New acquisition Glenn Khobuntin, surprising rookie Reden Celda and the resurgent LA Revilla have contributed heavily to Kia’s late surge in the Commissioner’s Cup, but the man Gavina expects the most from is Markeith Cummings.
Sponsored content:
“We have an import in Markeith Cummings who’s an explosive two player sure to demand plenty of attention from our opponents and we’re hoping he can be that link to get us back to the playoffs,” said Gavina.
