Pringle breaks out of slump as Batang Pier trounce Bolts

Meralco Arinze Onuaku attempts a hook shot against GlobalPort’s Malcolm White in a PBA game at the Araneta Coliseum. pba images

Stanley Pringle was just happy to have broken out of his personal slump in GlobalPort’s 86-85 victory over Meralco on Friday.

“Usually, when I get in a slump, it lasts a couple of games. But I found my rhythm in the fourth quarter a little bit,” said the Fil-Am guard, who delivered his side’s first win in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

After shooting 5-of-18 in the Batang Pier’s 114-128 defeat to TNT on Sunday, Pringle’s struggles continued after he went 1-of-8 in the first three quarters against the Bolts.

And then the fourth frame happened. Pringle went 5-of-10 in the next 12 minutes and poured 13 of his 17 points, including the crucial freebies which carried the Batang Pier to the win.

“I’ve been trying to find my rhythm. Whenever you’re in a slump, you just got to keep on going. I got good teammates that tell me to keep on shooting and say, ‘Don’t worry. We need you to hit that shot.’ So eventually, it’s gonna come,” he said.

Knowing how valuable these first games are, Pringle liked how GlobalPort was able to get back up especially with the team’s goal for better showing in this second conference.

“You always want to bounce back when you lose games. It’s just like in the all-Filipino conference, we lost the first two games and came back and made the playoffs. Whether its basketball or life in general, when you go down, you get back up,” he said.

One couldn’t blame Pringle for having this surge of confidence, and things are about to get better in the coming games with Mo Tautuaa coming back from his one-game suspension.

GlobalPort returns to the court on Wednesday against Blackwater.