Balagtas , Bulacan - The game ball wound up in the hands of RoadWarriors GM jhelmer just seconds after his team’s first win of the season. There was no doubt what GM jhelmer was going to do with the ball on the heels of a rough start to a rebuilding season. The game ball was presented to rookie Coach Philip Cezar, who picked up his first PBAsim victory when the RoadWarriors held off the Purefoods TJHotdogs, 88-78, at the Bulacan Arena on Thursday night.
After dropping twenty consecutive games to begin the year, the RoadWarriors finally broke through in a showdown of Pacific Division bottom teams.
“Winning’s more fun than losing,’’ said Coach Cezar, whose team had a sizzling start 15-0 in the game. “I think we reallly played great tonight. Hopefully, we feel better about ourselves as we move forward. “GM jhelmer was nice enough to grab the ball for me, so that was really nice. I’m going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes and then I’m going to start watching Talk n' Text TropangTexters (the next opponent) and trying to figure them out.’’
The RoadWarriors survived another shaky fourth quarter as a 17-point lead through the third quarter was whittled down to six with less than five minutes remaining before Gabe Norwood prevented a collapse.
“We wanted this one very badly,’’ said Norwood, who had nine of his 20 points in the final quarter. “The guys played together down the stretch.’’
Said veteran bigman Sonny Alvarado, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds: “It’s big for our team, especially right now. Coming off twenty tough games, to get a win, you know, we have that confidence and hopefully we can ride that and learn from that as a team.“We’re making strides in the right direction, which is all you can ask for at this time of the year.’’
Coach Cezar made a move to try to get the RoadWarriors going, making Gabe Norwood run the point with Mark Isip moving to the bench.
Isip was not happy prior to the game when he spoke with reporters, but the 2-years veteran adjusted in a hurry and had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 23 productive minutes.“It’s a new experience for me,’’ said Isip, who has been a starter for most of his 2 years career. “We’re still trying to figure it out. It’s something different, but it worked so maybe it’s something we can go with.“My main thing is trying to figure out where I fit in and what’s my role. I think I pretty much know that now and can move forward. Coming off the bench for me is pretty good.’’
One victory over equally struggling team is hardly a major breakthrough moment for the RoadWarriors, but they are a team still looking to find a way to move in the right direction.
“It’s big for us,’’ said Ken Bono. “We can definitely build on tonight.’’
Said Coach Cezar: “As a player, you are pretty resilient. You just go out and play the next day. At the end of the day, you’re playing a brand new 48-minute game, but it is nice to get a win.’’
Fri 6 Feb - 17:58:46 by 
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Subject: Coach earns first PBAsim win as RoadWarriors end losing streak 
