ABANILLA HOPES BOOSTERS WILL LEARN TO ACCEPT ROLES ON TEAM

The Petron Blaze Boosters will hope to end the so-called Petronovela when they begin a new campaign in the PBA Governors’ Cup, the tournament they last won in 2011.

Newly installed Petron head coach Gee Abanilla told pba.ph that he would talk to his players heart-to-heart and carefully lay down his plan for the team.

“Kakausapin ko talaga sila and ipe-present ko what I want for the team,” said Abanilla. “Alam ko naman na makikita nila na my intentions are pure.”

“Gaya nila, gusto ko lang din namang gawin ang lahat para sa mga fans at para sa amin na rin for our own glory,” added the youthful coach who has been a witness to the rollercoaster campaign of the Boosters the last few years.

Abanilla also admitted how hard it is for him to take over the reins at Petron to think that his predecessor, Olsen Racela, is said to be well loved by the players.

“Sabi ko nga kay Olsen bago matanggap as coach: ‘I wish I could have accepted this new assignment under a different circumstance.’ Pero it’s an assignment… sumusunod lang din ako,” he said.

“Sana naman maging madali ang transition,” added Abanilla.

The former De La Salle University coach is also hopeful that import Elijah Millsap will fit into their system well.

The younger brother of Utah Jazz star Paul Millsap will arrive on July 27 and he is expected to play multiple spots in Petron’s now well defined system.

“Kailangan naming i-define ang roles (ng players ngayon). Kaya sana mas maintindihan nila kung ano ang role na gusto namin sa kanila,” said Abanilla of his talent-rich team.

“Alam naman natin napaka-talented ng players namin, kaya they’ll feel lahat sila go-to guy. It won’t work that way,” he added.

The Boosters are in their third week of practice and Abanilla said he will start bringing up the level of their training program to 5 days a week beginning Monday. (SBadua)