Letran Knights forward Kevin Racal used to play for then Letran head coach Louie Alas, who serves as an assistant for the Alaska Aces.
Alas has seen Racal’s character and his effort defensively, and says it was one of the reasons the Aces coaching staff agreed on selecting him at 11th overall during the 2015 PBA Rookie Draft.
“Yung character ng bata, magandang-maganda. Nagdeliberate yung coaches kagabi e,” Alas shared, saying the Aces coaching staff had a video conference with head coach Alex Compton who is in Estonia with Gilas Pilipinas.
“One of the reasons why we picked him is because of our veterans na hindi na rin ganoong katagal sa PBA. Secondly, defensively I think magfi-fit siya sa system ni coach Alex,” Alas added.
Racal himself was surprised to hear his name called in the tail-end of the first round as he kept his expectations modest.
“Sa totoo lang hindi ko ine-expect na first round ako mapipili. Wala rin akong idea (sa projections nila) so di ko rin alam,” he said.
With the Aces, Racal is not only reuniting with his former mentor but also some forwards he has defended throughout his college career, like Calvin Abueva and Rome De La Rosa, another thing he is excited about.
“Reunited kaming dalawa ni coach Louie, and maging yung mga kabantayan ko nagiging kakampi ko na,” Racal shared.
The forward hopes to improve on his consistency on both ends of the floor especially in a squad known for its tenacity on defense.
Having guided the Knights to an 8-1 card so far in the NCAA, Racal tries to carry along his defensive presence to the PBA.
“Yung pagiging consistent ko lang sa lahat ng bagay. Sa offense at sa defense. Ang nakikita kong role ay depensa talaga dahil ang Alaska, defensive team to e.”
