By REYNALD MAGALLON
Phoenix head coach Jamike Jarin is refusing to get carried away by his team’s six-game winning run even if it allowed them to secure a spot in the playoffs and in position to contend for the quarterfinals bonus.
The amiable mentor said that the Fuel Masters are making sure not to celebrate too much with their surprising success and just take conference one game at a time
“Can’t be too high, can’t be too low, you have to stay grounded, that’s how we approach it every game,” said Jarin following Phoenix’s 113-104 win over NorthPort on Wednesday, Dec. 19 that improved their record to 7-1 just behind Magnolia’s league-pacing 8-1 slate.
The early success of the Fuel Masters, however, is being attributed by Jarin to the selfless culture that the team is trying to employ and it was very much evident in the win against the Batang Pier where they missed the services of prime big man Jayson Perkins.
“It’s the culture that we built right now that is about being selfless. Like today, Jason wasn’t able to play because he was under the weather so a lot of players stepped in, Larry Muyang, even Simon Camacho,” said Jarin.
“That’s how we approach every game. We are just ready to compete in all the games and hopefully at the end of 48 minutes of being competitive you get the victory,” he added.
With their chance of landing at the Top 4 spots, which dangle a twice-to-beat advantage, very much on their hands, the Fuel Masters are out to prove that their success is no fluke when they get a huge test against the San Miguel Beermen under the bright lights of the Christmas Day double-header on Monday, Dec. 25.
“Let’s see on Christmas Day, San Miguel is gonna come in prepared. They got a new import so a lot of work to be done but hopefully with the way things are going with us we continue to be competitive,” shared Jarin.
