MANILA, Philippines — Veteran guard Cyrus Baguio was disappointed with the way his teammates performed in the final stretch of Phoenix's 114-104 win over the Mahindra Floodbuster in the PBA Philippine Cup last Sunday.

Baguio helped Phoenix blow the game open, assisting on back-to-back transition lay-ups to rookie Gelo Alolino in the third quarter. On the bench, he watched his teammates build a 30-point cushion in the fourth quarter.

But the Fuel Masters were unable to sustain the momentum and the Floodbuster scored 21 unanswered points late in the fourth quarter to come to within 111-104 before free throws preserved the win.

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"Nag-relax sila," Baguio said. "Siguro, baka inisip nila na malaki na ang lamang namin. 'Yun naman usually ang nangyayari, pag lamang kayo ng 30 or 20 points, nagre-relax kayo, kumpyansa na kayo, at nawawala kayo sa goal ng team."

(They relaxed because we had a big lead. That's the tendency, if you're up by 30 or 20 points, you relax and become complacent, and you lose sight of the goal of the team.)

Baguio, a 13-year veteran and one of Phoenix's most experienced players, said it was no excuse for bench players to come into the court unprepared.

"Kailangan ready ka eh. Kahit hindi ka naglaro, hindi ka pwedeng mag-excuse ng ganoon eh. Kailangan, ready ka lagi," the 36-year-old said.

(You have to be ready. Even if you don't play, that's not an excuse. You have to be always ready.)

Phoenix's defense, Baguio said, faltered down the stretch against a Mahindra squad that remained aggressive despite the massive deficit.

Baguio said the Fuel Masters cannot afford to develop such bad habits.

"Sana, natuto na kami," said Baguio, who had 10 points and five assists in the contest. "The next game sana, 'di na mangyari 'yun kasi delikado 'yun eh."

"Paano pa 'yung good teams, 'di ba? 'Yung mga malalakas na alam mo na consistent sila," he added. "Pag malas sila, 'di mo alam, babawi 'yun pagdating ng fourth. Medyo delikado 'yun."

(I hope we learned from this so that it doesn't happen next game, because this was dangerous. What will happen when we play good teams, the strong teams that are consistent? Even if they don't make shots, you know they can catch up in the fourth quarter, and that's dangerous.)

The Fuel Masters were fortunate that Mahindra ran out of time, he said.

Phoenix cannot afford to make the same mistakes against tougher teams such as Barangay Ginebra or Alaska, who are known for their never-say-die attitude.

"Kung Alaska or Ginebra ang kalaban, baka wala na, baka kinain na 'yung lamang (namin)," Baguio said.

"So hindi pwedeng magpabaya," he said emphatically. "Kailangan, kung gusto mong pumasok sa playoffs, sa semis, kailangan consistent ka. Hindi pwedeng up and down ang tempo niyo."

(If this were Ginebra or Alaska, our lead would have evaporated. So we can't be careless. If we want to make the playoffs or the semis, we have to be consistent. The tempo can't be up and down.)

"Kailangan namin mag-usap-usap about doon, para hindi na maulit, kasi delikado 'yung mga ganoon eh," Baguio added. "Lalo na 'yung mga bata na akala, OK lang."

"Hindi mo mararating 'yung goal ng isang team kapag ganoon ang ugali mo as a player, so kailangan ma-change namin 'yung habit na 'yun," he added.

(We have to talk about this so it won't happen again, especially to the young players who may think it's OK. A team can't achieve its goal if that's the attitude of the players. We have to change this habit.)

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