As Titan Ultra begins its PBA journey, coach Johnedel Cardel exhorted his Giant Risers crew to unlock their inner beast mode.
‘Sinabi ko sa lahat na sana maging Calvin Abueva kayo,’ shared Cardel, placing the team’s hard-playing and high-intensity veteran as model ahead of their debut in Season 50.
‘Maging matapang kayo kasi ‘yan ang kailangan dito sa PBA para tumagal ang career ninyo. Hindi pwedeng soft dito. Kailangan kung pogi kayo, makipagpalitan na kayo ng mukha sa mga pangit para dumepensa.’
Whether his charges have embraced the Abueva way will be known beginning today when the Giant Risers hit the court against heavyweight Meralco in Day 2 of the golden season at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The match is set at 5:15 p.m. to be followed by the duel between holder San Miguel Beer and NLEX at 7:30 p.m.
Cardel, the former Terrafirma coach who’s making a comeback with the new club, counts much on ‘the Beast’ and Season 49 Most Improved Player Joshua Munzon to lead the way for young guns like Cade Flores, Fran Yu and Chris Koon.
And it’s a stern test for the Titan right away, with a Bolts side headlined by Chris Newsome, Cliff Hodge, Chris Banchero, Raymund Almazan, Bong Quinto and the comebacking Allein Maliksi as first opponents.
‘I have to admit that we’re still young, but we have a complete lineup and we will give the strong teams a good fight without saying, ‘Kuya. Kami ay lalaban din,” Titan governor Emilio Tiu vowed.