BARAKO Bull's playoff hopes suddenly dimming, head coach Koy Banal can only hope of one thing.
Barako better start making its three-point shots.
Banal was left to rue the Energy's shooting struggles after a 96-103 loss to Purefoods on Tuesday night - their fifth defeat in six games after a 3-0 start to the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
At 4-6 (win-loss), Barako Bull is suddenly out of the playoff frame in 10th and needing a win in its final elimination-round game against NLEX to have any hope of making the top eight.
To do that, Banal said the Energy needs to regain their touch from the outside. The team is averaging just four three-pointers a game in this conference and went just 4-of-16 from beyond the arc against the Hotshots.
The Energy's shooting woes, Banal said, are crucial since it allows opponents to sag down low against the team's towering Nigerian import Solomon Alabi.
“Maybe we need to shoot more from the outside. We need to be better from the outside. Otherwise, they (opponents) will clamp down low on (Solomon) Alabi,” said Banal.
Alabi, for his part, blamed the team’s lack of aggressiveness on defense for the tailspin.
“It’s tough. We’re going through tough times with all the losses,” rued the Nigerian seven-foot reinforcement. “Coach is trying to figure out the problem, but we gotta take care of the ball, be aggressive and play good defense because our defense as kind of dropped, a big reason why we are losing.”
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