Ever since absorbing a 93-85 overtime loss to De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde last Friday, Jose Rizal University seemed to become invincible.
The Heavy Bombers have now won two games in a row after dealing Mapua University and Emilio Aguinaldo College their first taste of defeats to improve to 3-1 and emerge as the second seed so far.
And head coach Louie Gonzales said it has something to do with what he usually preaches to his players: discipline.
“Naka-focus talaga kami sa disiplina,” Gonzales said on Wednesday on the heels of a 77-71 victory against the Generals.
“For us to win, we need to do it collectively and ayun lang naman ‘yung recipe namin.”
(We are focused on discipline. For us to win, we need to it collectively and that's our recipe.)
Gonzales admitted that their heartbreaking loss to the Blazers dealt a huge blow to them, especially to the players. But instead of sulking over that painful defeat, the Heavy Bombers returned to the drawing board with the discipline, on an off the court, in mind.
“Siguro after that loss is really a hard day for us and ang ginawa lang namin ay mas nagtiwala lang kami sa isa’t isa,” he added.
(Perhaps that loss was really a hard day for us and we just trusted each other.)
That bore fruit as JRU is now riding a two-game winning streak behind big wins against the Cardinals and the Generals with veterans Agem Miranda and JL Delos Santos leading the way.
“Ang pinreach ko ay we need to be sharp, we need to play with a lot of discipline, at ‘yung effort hindi dapat mabawasan.”
(What I preached is to be sharp, we need to play with a lot of discipline and the effort should not be lessened.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
