Terrafirma coach on departure of Rosser, Adams: ‘Sanay naman kaming walang superstar’

Terrafirma has just lost two key players to free agency while the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup is on an indefinite break.

First to go was 7-year veteran Matt Ganuelas-Rosser.

The 31-year old Fil-Am, who was acquired from SMB earlier last year as part of the controversial CJ Perez deal, turned down a two-year extension offer from the Dyip and automatically became an unrestricted free agent.

Roosevelt Adams followed suit by similarly declining a fresh two-year contract.

Unlike Rosser, however, Adams is unrestricted — meaning the Dyip can opt to retain his services by simply matching any offer sheet from other teams.

While the team still has a fighting chance to keep Adams, head coach Johnedel Cardel has apparently given up on the top overall pick of the 2019 rookie draft.

“Hirap kasi kapag mawalan din ng players na katulad nila. Malaking adjustment na naman para sa amin,” said Cardel during an interview with Tiebreaker Times.

“They decided to be free agents at choice naman nila ‘yan. At buhay na nila ‘yan, ‘yan ang bread-and-butter nila, itong career nila. Inisiip lang nila kung ano ‘yung best na makakabuti sa kanila,” he added.

As unfortunate as it may seem, Cardel believes that all is not lost for the Jose Alvarez-owned franchise given their history of being able to compete despite losing key players year after year.

“We were playing with nine to 10 players, a maximum of 11. Pero we competed. Kahit papano, nanalo kami. We won four games. We almost went to the quarterfinals, natalo lang kami sa point system,” explained Cardel.

“Yun lang naman ang basketball e. Kung sino ‘yung nandito sa team ko ngayon, kaming mga coaches ginagawan namin ng paraan and I know them. ‘Yung mga players na ‘yan, kaya natin kinuha ‘yan dahil marurunong ‘yang mga ‘yan. At sanay din naman kaming walang superstar e. Nagco-compete naman kami kahit papano. So, ganun na lang din.”