STAY sharp and focused.
That’s what College of St. Benilde intends to do in the second round of the 100th NCAA basketball tournament.
The Blazers emerged on top after nine games with a 7-2 mark, but coach Charles Tiu insisted they can only get better.
“We’re happy that we’re No. 1 but obviously we would have wanted a bit more breathing room kasi dikit-dikit lahat ng teams sa standings. We definitely want to get a twice-to-beat advantage sa Final Four,” Tiu said. “(We) still have to clean up the turnovers, that’s our number concern.
“Hopefully, we can get healthy a bit because we’re dealing with some other injuries and sickness. Ang daming nagkakasakit sa amin but hopefully the guys can recover in time for our next game,” he added.
Tiu said he wants more from the Blazers in the second half of the season.
CSB fell to the Letran Knights and Arellano Chiefs in the first round.
“I think it’s still very shaky, to be honest. I would have wanted to end with one loss or zero losses if possible. Maybe we’re there every game, even in our losses, medyo nag-collapse lang kami in the end,” Tiu said. “So, I mean that’s my parang ‘what if,’ ‘di ba? We could have been easily 9-0 but it’s part of basketball, we just have to work harder and try to get better in the next round.
“I think they know that we’ve not been playing well. We always remind them (that despite being) No. 1, we have to be humble because they haven’t accomplished anything talaga. I think they’ll be focused naman. It’s just a matter of doing what we want and following our game plan. Minsan nawawala-wala kasi sa composure but it’s something that we continue to build on, especially for the next round.”
Tiu said the Blazers have to work doubly hard if they want to win it all.
“Definitely, we have to continue to work. Again, we haven’t accomplished anything. We could easily collapse in the next round so we have to make sure we stay sharp because the second round is where it matters,” he said. “We just have to make adjustments and just be better when we play the other teams.”
