By MARK REY MONTEJO

Jose Rizal University might be enjoying a strong 3-1 start to its campaign in the NCAA Season 99 but head coach Louie Gonzales was hardly pleased with his team’s performance, seeing that the Heavy Bombers still have a lot to work and improve on.

For one,  the Heavy Bombers were sloppy on the offensive end, turning the ball over 18 times – a stat which Gonzales believes they need to fix if they wish to sustain the impressive start.

“Siguro we have just to review kung saan nanggaling iyong mga turnover, kasi minsan kapag masyado na kaming masaya, mas masyado kaming nagiging mabilis. That’s the time na nagkakaroon kami ng di magandang desisyon,” Gonzales said after the team pulled off a 77-71 victory over the erstwhile undefeated Emilio Aguinaldo College on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

The turnovers had become a problem for JRU in the first half of the contest, prompting Gonzales to rely more on his veterans down the stretch. The game turned out to be a battle of which team can take care of the ball better and convert on the other end after the Generals, for their part, also committed 21 turnovers.

“Actually na-address ko iyan, especially nung second half [na] we need to make better decisions, kaya nanotice nyo puro beterano talaga yung majority na nilalagay ko [at] yung mga decision makers ko. Kasi alam ko sila yung nakakaramdam dun sa laro,” shared Gonzales.

Gonzales, meanwhile, credited the  wins to the team’s commitment to improve and get better although he was also quick to remind his player to not get too carried away by the early success.

“Ang pinanggagalingan lang naman ng lahat ng ito ay yung pinagtrabuhan namin throughout [off season] and pre season na more than the basketball ay iyong commitment nila sa ginagawa ng buong team. Alam naman namin na hindi magiging madali,” Gonzales added.