University of Perpetual Help System DALTA has not begun the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament as the dark horse contender it was meant to be.
The Altas lost their first two games of the season against Emilio Aguinaldo College (67-75) and Lyceum of the Philippines University (73-76). Although they managed a blowout win against Arellano University (85-66), they once again lost back-to-back games against Jose Rizal University (65-71) and College of Saint Benilde (80-86).
However, after their 64-50 triumph over San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Friday, Altas head coach Myk Saguiguit says his squad is ready to put their poor start behind them.
“I call them ‘tune-up games’ kasi sabi ko sa players ko, ito ang first game natin sa NCAA.
“Kalimutan natin iyon, mga tuneup lang natin yung una, we lost a lot. Yung mga tune-up na iyon very erratic. Ngayon, medyo hindi ap nga lumabas yung isa, gumaling na. Hopefully yung mga players ko maging healthy,” shared Saguiguit.
Senior guard Jielo Razon echoed Saguiguit’s sentiments about a fresh start for Perpetual, sharing that their win against Baste is bound to be a turning point for the Altas to regain their top form in the preseason.
“Sobrang sarap kasi after ng dalawang sunod na talo namin sobrang stress si Coach Myk. Sobrang importante itong game na to para makabalik kami doon sa dati, yung confidence namin, yung laro dati,” declared Razon, who is in his fifth and final year.
“Dito kami kukuha ng panimula.”
A positive sign that Perpetual is ready to turn its season around is the fact that they secured the win despite the struggles of their two trusty sophomores, Marcus Nitura and Art Roque, who both had poor shooting performances against Baste.
Nitura finished with 13 points but didn’t make a shot until the end of the third quarter. Roque, on the other hand, had an uncharacteristic 27.3% field goal percentage.
Both Saguiguit and Razon praised the Altas’ depth of talent for helping them survive against Baste despite Nitura and Roque’s struggles.
“Yung team namin, sobrang talented. Kailangan yung mga talent nga, kasi sobrang daming talented na players,” said Razon.
“Yung problema lang is paano namin mapapasok yung talent na iyon sa systema ni Coach. Yun lang ang trabaho namin.”
