Going into the Letran Knights’ 13th game of the season – this time against the EAC Generals – the trio of Jeremiah Taladua, Fran Yu, and Koy Galvelo have been relegated to limited minutes so far this season.
Taladua, a transferee from Lyceum, only had 21 points for the season so far, while Yu, who was with UE two seasons ago, totalled 27 points. For his part, Galvelo, a former star in St. Clare, attempted just seven shots so far – knocking down none in four games.
But with Letran co-captains JP Calvo and Bong Quinto having an off-game, third-year Knights head coach Jeff Napa looked deep into his bench – a luxury he did not have during his first two years in Intramuros.
“Struggling yung dalawa pero marami silang ginagawa na hindi nakikita ng stats. Siguro, yung offense ang nawala sa kanila pero confident ako na may nagste-step up sa kanila,” shared Napa. “Confident ako na may mag-step up sa team na ito.
“Luckily, itong tatlo, pagbunot ko sa kanila, instant offense.”
And the unlikely trio had been waiting for this moment.
Galvelo provided the spark for the Knights, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first half.
“As a rookie syempre kailangan mag-step up kasi yun nga, sa pagkawala ni Jerrick kailangan talaga ng suporta. Yung mga teammate ko, sinasabi na kailangan talaga namin tumulong, sabi nga ni Fran,” shared Galvelo.
“Matagal ko rin hinintay.”
Taladua then took over in the third canto, scoring seven of his 15 points. And the defensive specialist found his groove by making stops.
“Ako sa akin, ano ko talaga, sinasabi lagi ni coach na defense,” the second-year Knight said. “Darating na lang yung score sa akin kasi doon lang naggagaling yung score. Siguro ngayon, dumating sa akin yung offense.
“Kaya kailangan talaga namin mag-step up.”
When EAC tried a fightback, it was Yu’s turn to pounce on the Generals, scoring eight of his 13 points in the final frame.
“Nag-thank you ako kay coach Jeff kasi kahit na pangit yung pinakita ni Quinto at Calvo, binigyan niya pa rin kami ng kumpyansa,” said Yu.
“Susuklian lang namin yung binibigay sa amin.”
Letran were able to take a 91-82 victory with the trio taking charge.
With this, the Knights have sent a message to the rest of the league that they are a dangerous team even if their two leaders are struggling.
“Alam nila ang role nila. Talagang hinihintay ko lang kung kailan sila magdedeliver. Lagi ko naman nireremind sa kanila talaga na offense will come but yung defense is very important sa amin, especially coming sa stretch na ito,” said Napa.
“Kailangan mag-compliment yung team para sa isang goal.”
