Ricky Dandan praised his team for finally showing the fight that was lacking since taking over as KIA coach, resulting in the end of a 16-game losing skid with a 98-94 win over Rain or Shine Saturday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Kia bucked the absence of three players including veteran center Jay-R Reyes and the loss of Eric Camson to ejection in the second quarter behind unsung performances from several players for the team's first victory since beating Phoenix, 122-121, in a May 21 overtime game of last season's Commissioner's Cup.
"It was very different for us because our confidence was all shot but we really had no choice but to move forward and look at the positives," said Dandan, who took over after the resignation of Chris Gavina in late-December.
"In spite of all of those blowouts, we really, really dug deep and look for positives in everything, and that kept us going," he added.
The Picanto's stunning win which were led by Glenn Khobuntin, Roider Cabrera and Rashawn McCarthy came at the heels of two blowout defeats to the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok and Alaska Aces by an average margin of 42 points.
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Dandan said he and his team were able to remedy issues that hounded the team since the start of the Philippine Cup.
"Basketball was not our problem, it's in us. So we identified that," he said. "I showed them the Magnolia third quarter and the Alaska third quarter and they all saw it. They saw what happened but I also told them that this is not about technicalities, it isn't about basketball.
"So we accepted it, they accepted the weaknesses and they knew how to solve it. It was really solvable among us, di kailangan ng external motivation for that."
Dandan believes the win would be a fresh start for the Picanto, saying: "Now that we have our confidence back, we'll take it one game at a time. Of course, we'll see how it pans out." (JT)
