THERE is little NorthPort coach Pido Jarencio could do in this difficult period, but to make some light out of it.
“May mga injury pero minor lang,” Jarencio said as he described to Malaya-Business Insight the status of some of his players while the PBA Governors Cup is on hold.
“Pero ang pinakadinaramdam ng team talaga, broken heart — kasi wala pa kaming panalo,” Jarencio added with a wry chuckle.
The Batang Pier have lost their first four matches, the last two without injured import Cameron Forte.
That forced NorthPort to look for a replacement and readily found one in James Artis. But the well-traveled ex-Pittsburgh Panther, who turned 29 yesterday, still has to arrive.
“Inaantay lang namin siya kasi hindi mo masabi kung ano protocols o policy ngayon. Paano pag-issue nila ng visa papunta rito, baka nire-restrict pa nila. Mga ganoong bagay,” explained Jarencio.
There is also the possibility that Artis could change his mind about coming over, a possibility Jarencio has already taken into consideration.
“May commitment na siya sa amin, pero kapag hindi na niya maho-honor ‘yun siya rin ‘yun,” said Jarencio. “Wala naman tayong magagawa doon. Di humanap ng iba.”
There is a positive there for Jarencio, too. “Kawawa d’yan ‘yung mga teams na may import. Kasi nandito na sila so lalong humahaba kontrata ng mga iyan,” he said.
“Kami walang import so walang dagdag na pinapasuweldo.”
Jarencio’s flippant remarks could barely hide the real concerns bugging him, especially the drastic rise in COVID cases following the Christmas holidays that forced the PBA to indefinitely suspend its games since Jan. 5.
“Grabe ‘yung surge ng COVID, grabe ‘yung taas ng mga kaso,” Jarencio pointed out.
“Kami naman, para makatulong na rin sa community, baka mamaya may mahawaan tayo o makahawa pa tayo, sabi ko tigil na lang muna,” added Jarencio.
“Hintayin na lang natin na bumaba o mag-normalize kahit papaano. Kapag allowed na sports, especially indoor sports, saka na lang tayo magpa-kundisyon. Pero ngayon ang priority siyempre, safety first muna ng lahat.”
Like most of the other teams, NorthPort has not been spared the infections, with a team insider saying seven members of the team have contracted the virus.
Jarencio declined to confirm the report but said he has also prevented his team from conducting small group workouts, involving a maximum of four players, the league has allowed.
“Hindi na namin pinush ‘yung cluster sa practice o ano. In-off na muna namin,” offered Jarencio.
For now, the Batang Pier have limited their group activity to Zoom exercises but Jarencio acknowledges that would not be enough to keep his players in game-shape.
“Talagang mawawala ka sa kondisyon dito. Mawala ka ng dalawa, tatlong linggo dito off na naman ang team mo. Kapaan na naman iyon,” stated Jarencio.
Still, there’s nothing NorthPort or the rest of the PBA could do.
“Kasi hindi mo alam kung saan galing talaga itong virus,” said Jarencio. “Sa ngayon iisipin mo muna kalusugan ng lahat… so hintayin na lang natin kung ano mangyayari sa mga susunod na araw.”
