During their first three games of the season, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals have picked up moral victories.
Though little is expected of them, as lead general Sidney Onwubere has exhausted his eligibility and Hamadou Laminou has just recovered from an ACL tear, the Generals fought on – losing their first three games by just an average of 5.0 points per game.
But when they faced the Generals faced the San Beda Red Lions, all the positive vibes were sucked out, as the defending champions blew them out 46-61 last Tuesday.
Third-year head coach Ariel Sison reached his tipping point.
“‘Di ko alam kung ano ang gagawin ko just to make sure na manalo kami. Sabi ko nga, nung nagp-practice nga tayo, ‘di tayo nanalo e, ngayon pa ba tayo titigil mag-practice dahil ‘di tayo nanalo? Dapat tuloy-tuloy lang ang practice. Dapat mindset natin, manalo at matalo, focus pa rin,” shared Sison, who is the former dean of IT in EAC.
“Since Filoil ‘di kami nanalo e, sabi ko lang sige tiyaga lang. Gawin natin ang tama.”
A night before their game against the San Sebastian Golden Stags, Sison made an ultimatum.
“I thought you know, just to be honest with you, last night I thought that if I won’t win today I will resign. That’s the least I can do so that the team will win.
“Sa akin lang. Ang akin lang naman yung school e. Kung ‘di ko kayang ipanalo then someone else will be doing it for us,” confessed an emotional Sison.
Though the Generals had no idea that their mentor had been about to call it quits, they played inspired basketball against the more-favored Golden Stags.
JP Maguliano had himself a game with 30 points and 17 rebounds. Everyone else stepped up as well that led to EAC’s 79-77 overtime stunner against last season’s third-place finishers.
For Sison, it was an answered prayer that he needs to stay on board with the school that has gave him both joys and headaches.
“Thank God, narinig niya yun. ‘Di ko alam kung paano kami nanalo, basta nanalo kami, ‘yun na lang.”
