D-League: Big Chill remains confident despite Game Two loss

The last thing Big Chill felt after losing to NLEX in Game Two of the semifinals of the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup was demoralized.

The Superchargers did the unthinkable, coming back from a 24-point deficit against a strong Road Warriors squad, although they fell short with a 69-62 decision last Thursday as NLEX forced a rubber match for a finals seat on Tuesday.

Big Chill coach Arsenio Dysangco was happy with the effort his team put up especially in the second half.

“Actually, the loss was not demoralizing,” said Dysangco. “We are very happy with the way we performed. Coming back from a 24-point deficit and leading by one against a team such as NLEX is something not every team can do.”

Dysangco also commended his wards for staying in the game even as they trailed by 51-27 in the third but was able to take a 57-56 lead with four minutes in the game.

During the inaugural Foundation Cup where NLEX captured the title, Big Chill, then known as the FCA Cultivators, didn’t come close to defeating the Road Warriors. In fact, the team lost a quarterfinal game, 100-71.

This conference though, Big Chill has so far won two out of its three matches with NLEX and is still on the verge of eliminating the Road Warriors. The near-comeback in Game Two reinforced its chance of eliminating the Foundation Cup champions Road Warriors.

“They never gave up and they played hard. It actually proved to us that we can beat NLEX. Lalong na-strengthen ‘yung belief namin that we can really have a good chance at beating NLEX,” said Dysangco.

Big Chill was forced to mount a huge comeback after failing to adjust with the physicality NLEX showed in the first two quarters of the game.

“We got ourselves behind in the first two quarters with the physicality and I was surprised that we were the ones that were caught off-guard,” Dysangco said.

Still, Dysangco noted that his team, a collection of unknown players from the smaller collegiate leagues, didn’t execute well enough to complete their comeback.

“We are a young team. Of course, we lack the experience playing in big games katulad ng NLEX na they play in the UAAP and NCAA. But we feel that it is part of gaining experience,” Dysangco said.

Gaining experience is what Big Chill really needs to do quickly as Game 3 is set on Tuesday at the Ynares Sports Arena. The winner will face Freego Jeans in the best-of-three championship series.

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