Work will never stop for Colegio de San Juan de Letran head coach Bonnie Tan.
Despite being stuck at home due to the enhanced community quarantine the country is in, the champion tactician is not stopping in trying to recruit players, opting to go online for those who are interested to join the Knights.
Last Tuesday, Tan posted an online ad for student-athletes and agents, asking them to email their profile, contact details, and, if possible, videos to [email protected] or to Facebook page Do Not Fear Only Believe.
According to Tan, this was necessary as the Knights have struggled to have a complete lineup even prior to the ECQ.
“During our games in the PCCL and the D-League, we were only fielding ten players,” said Tan, who spent 11 years building Lyceum’s basketball program and is also Northport’s team manager. “We still have a lot of holes to fill. Some players are still recovering while some just finished their commitments in the MPBL.
“That is why we are still open to adding more players since no one is a lock in our lineup yet. I guarantee that the new recruits will be treated the same as our holdovers.”
This as things have not gone as planned for the Knights due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic just like every team in the country now.
Besides having their trip to Japan cancelled — their reward for winning the NCAA Season 95 crown, Letran’s campaign in the D-League — the team’s main preseason tournament — has abruptly stopped due to the virus.
It resulted to the Knights being sent home even before the lockdown was implemented.
“Lahat ng players natin, pinauwi ko na lahat. But before that, I asked them kung mayroon ba silang uuwian na safe. Sabi naman nila oo. This happened before the flights were canceled. Lahat sila naka-book ng flights sa kanikanilang mga province,” Tan assured.
“So far, clear naman silang lahat ngayon. Wala namang nagkaproblema sa mga COVID issues.”
The veteran tactician lamented that the month of March was supposed to be the time that will see the Knights hit their game-form.
“Pakumpleto palang kami nun since kakatapos lang ng stints nung ibang players namin sa MPBL,” said Tan as Larry Muyang and Ato Ular just returned to the team before the ECQ was implemented.
“Actually, lagi ko kino-compare yung calendar namin last year to this year. During this time last year, naglalaro na kami ng competitive basketball sa D-League e. We had a good run nun. Sayang nasira yung momentum ngayon.”
Now, Tan can only check on the Knights through the team’s group chat.
But once the quarantine has been lifted, Tan knows that there will be a lot of work to be done.
“Actually sa akin naman, better yung nangyari na nasa baba kami nun para hindi mag-relax yung mga players. Pero pag natapos nito, siguradong back-to-basics kami.”
And this would include the tryouts of the new recruits that will go up to him.
