Losing key cogs from last year’s champion team, Letran is still looking for a leader that will provide the stability when it matters the most.
Though Rey Nambatac has been the undoubted go-to guy for the crew, in the eyes of Kevin Racal, the Knights are still searching for that man to rally Letran on when the going gets tough.
“Siguro, kailangan pa nila ng leader kasi siyempre, dalawa kami ni Mark (Cruz) na nawala. Kailangan talaga na may mag-step up sa kanila,” one of Letran’s heroes in Season 91 said.
Watching Letran’s 83-71 defeat to San Beda on Friday, Racal saw a lot of promise from his former teammates, but still believes that the team still has a lot of room for improvement.
“Alam ko naman ile-lead sila ni McJour [Luib] tsaka ni Rey, pero syempre kailangan hindi lang sila ang mag-step up. Dapat lahat sila,” the 25 year old said.
“Kumbaga, sa team hindi naman kailangan isa lang ang mag-lead. Kailangan marami.”
Racal likened that to the Knights’ setup last year, when the team had him and Mark Cruz leading the fort, while also drawing significant contributions from holdovers like Nambatac and Luib.
“Tingin ko naman, sa vocal walang problema. Problema dyan sa ‘on the court.’ Hindi naman puwedeng vocal lang. Kailangan maging role model ka rin sa teammates mo sa loob ng court. Hindi lang pwede salita lang, kailangan makikita rin sa loob ng court,” he said.
Saddled in a five game losing skid, Letran is in danger of missing the Final Four with its 5-7 card. But Racal is keeping his hopes up that the Knights can still make a late run and get themselves in the playoffs.
“Kaya pa yan. Siyempre. Hangga’t may laro, hangga’t may buhay, may pag-asa,” the former King Knight closed.
