As part of their preparation for NCAA Season 100, Yuri Escueta looks to tap into his young stars’ potential as they look towards building a dynasty for the future – and 6-foot Josh Tagala appears to be one of his main projects.
In San Beda University’s 76-69 victory over Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the Filoil Ecooil 17th ECJ Preseason Cup, Tagala came up huge with a game-high 20 points.
The sharpshooter from Rizal scored 18 of his points from distance, going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Tagala’s ability to show promise this early on in the absence of Yukien Andrada and James Payosing shows that the Red Lions will be in good hands moving forward.
Escueta lauds Tagala’s work ethic, mentioning how he consistently wakes up at five in the morning to be the first one in the gym to work on his shooting, which contributed to his performance in the Red Lions’ game today.
“I wasn’t surprised,” he adds.
Team Captain Andrada also previously mentioned how Tagala, as a shooting partner during practice, heavily influenced their three-point improvement over the past year.
Meanwhile, Tagala, who has been in the Red Lions program since 2019, himself noted the importance of being ready to step up, especially now that Jacob Cortez is gone.
“Ginagawa ko lang kasi trabaho ko, lagi kong pine-pressure ‘yung first group, second group, and now na undermanned kami, kailangan naming mag-step up, which I think we did,” Tagala said.
In addition, he states how he’s always willing to fill whatever role is needed of him from Escueta saying, “Palagi akong ready, every game, kahit [kung] ‘di ako pinapasok, alam ni coach ‘yan. Hindi ako nagrereklamo sa playing time.”
