THE team’s slow start has drawn the attention of B-Meg Derby Ace coach George Gallent, who wants his troops to dump the habit like a hot potato.

“We’ve been starting bad for the past four games. Para kaming diesel,” observed Gallent, working on a depleted roster because frontliners Kerby Raymundo, Mark Pingris and Rafi Reavis are still recovering from various injuries.

He said the habit could put them in trouble.

The Llamados almost did on Wednesday when they fell behind by 13 points late in the opening quarter against the Air21 Express because of a poor start.

Thanks to PJ Simon’s career-high 42 points, the Llamados got away with a 102-97 victory for their first back-to-back win in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.

“We really have to start strong. Baka next time hindi na kami maka-recover,” Gallent warned.

His message should be more than enough to motivate the Llamados in their attempt to stretch their winning streak to three games when they take on the skidding Powerade Tigers on Friday. Powerade has lost its last two games and four of the last five.

Bo Perasol, the Tigers’ coach, described as “bitter loss” the 67-96 pounding they received from the Alaska Aces on Wednesday and urged his chargers to be mentally prepared against the Llamados in their scheduled 7:30 p.m. date at the Araneta Coliseum.

San Miguel coach Ato Agustin also hopes his Beermen will put behind their stunning loss against Rain or Shine when they go up against the Barako Bull E-Boosters in the other game at 5 o’clock.

San Miguel Beer is tied for first place with idle Talk ’N Text but could assume the solo lead with a win against Barako Bull, which is coming off tough losses against RoS and TNT.

RoS snapped Agustin’s five-game winning streak with a 110-107 victory on Sunday.

A victory is crucial for both Derby Ace and Powerade in their bid to improve on their placing. At the moment, the two teams are tied with Meralco and Air21 for sixth to ninth spots on 3-5 (win-loss) records. The last two teams after the elimination round will be disqualified from the playoffs.

“We really have to make sure that our frame of mind is right. Defending their scorers [Derby Ace] will be a real challenge,” Perasol said.

“PJ has been playing really great this conference. I hope he continues to play well,” said Gallent of his reserve guard, who went 13 for 15 from the field, including 11 shots without a miss from the perimeter against Air 21.

Dave Corros, Business Mirror