SPORTS GlobalPort's Pringle not asking to be traded
There will be no Kyrie Irving blindsiding LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Globalport, so Batang Pier star Terrence Romeo can sit back and relax because backcourt partner Stanley Pringle isn’t going anywhere.
Pringle, after his outburst Sunday, isn’t asking for a trade.
All is well between Pringle and GlobalPort coach Franz Pumaren after the two had a spat during the first half of the team’s game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Hindi naman… OK na ‘yun,” said GlobalPort alternate governor Erick Arejola yesterday in a text message to Bulletin/Tempo when asked if Pringle will be doing an Irving after his conflict with Pumaren.
Irving, the NBA superstar who helped Cleveland win a title two seasons ago, recently made headlines after he asked Cavs owner Dan Gilbert for a trade in a secret meeting – a move that stunned many, including his mega-star teammate James.
Even Batang Pier team manager Bonnie Tan was quick to respond, insisting everything has been patched up between Pumaren and Pringle, a former No. 1 draft pick.
“Naku po… walang ganun. So far OK naman,” said Tan.
GlobalPort didn’t have practice yesterday as Pumaren gave his players a two-day rest before returning for training tomorrow at the Gatorade Hoops Gym on Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong City.
GlobalPort will play Kia Picanto on August 20.
The veteran mentor and the third year guard had a heated exchange during a timeout late in the second period of the game that Ginebra won, 124-108.
In a YouTube post by TV broadcaster Sports 5, the two were caught having an argument. It happened when Pumaren called out Pringle for his apparent lack of defensive effort guarding his man. Pringle, in turn, responded by shouting and throwing his towel in front of his coach.
Pringle then slapped hard the whiteboard held by a ballboy before he was pacified by teammates Dylan Ababou, Ryan Araña, and Rico Maierhofer. Tan, Arejola, and import Murphy Holloway also stepped in.
Pumaren, a champion coach at De La Salle in the UAAP, was heard shouting at Pringle, “You don’t talk to me like that! You don’t talk to me like that!” He added: “You didn’t hustle on defense!”
At the halftime break, witnesses said a fuming Pringle, notorious for refusing interviews, stormed out of the dugout only to be stopped and calmed down by Sean Anthony.
Arejola, as well as GlobalPort assistant coaches Johnedel Cardel and Oliver Bunyi, took him inside the vacant locker room earlier used by NLEX, which played in the first game against Phoenix Fuel.
Before the start of the second half, Tan mediated as Pumaren and Pringle settled their differences. Arejola clarified that there was no such thing as a ‘walkout’ on the part of Pringle.
After the game, Pumaren said it was a “normal thing” for a player to get upset – much like when he was still playing for the Green Archers, and later for San Miguel in the PBA.
You don’t talk to me like that! You don’t talk to me like that! – FRANZ PUMAREN