The San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags, having lost nine straight games prior to Friday, had a tough task at hand when they faced the heavily-favored Perpetual Altas. The Stags, however, were able to play inspired basketball for 40 straight minutes en route to a surprise romping, 71-55, to arrest San Sebastian’s skid.
Leading the way for the Stags was Alvin Capobres, who was coincidentally celebrating his 22nd birthday on the same day.
The 6’1″ wingman scored eight of his 13 points in the opening frame to go along with five rebounds. This outing was a point shy of his season-high 14 markers.
“Sobrang special sa akin at thank you talaga sa mga teammates ko,” the San Sebastian sophomore shared.
“Nag-step up sa amin lahat at sabay pumutok.”
During their nine game losing skid, Capobres admitted that their team’s down morale had been kept in check by their mentor Egay Macaraya.
“Hindi naman kasi lagi sa amin sinasabi ni coach, kahit nagtatatalo kami, na laging stay sharp kami sa laro,” he shared about their mentor. “Basta team strong lang laruin namin.”
Against Perpetual, they were able to out-rebound, 51 to 41, and out-work, scoring 13 points off 20 turnovers, their opponents. And it all started with Capobres’ hustle.
“Sumunod lang kami sa gameplan ni Coach Egay lalo na sa defense,” he said. “Yung offense kasi namin nandun na pero sa defense talaga yung priority namin laban sa Perpetual.”
Looking forward, the bulky wing man is hoping that they could ride this win to close-out the season on a high note.
“Mas motivated ako sa next game namin lalo na nasira na losing streak namin,” he concluded.
