“Minsan, kailangan mo silang kausapin ng puso sa puso. Kaya marurunong naman sila, pero minsan nagkukulang sila sa puso.”
These were the words of San Sebastian College-Recoletos head coach Clint Malazo, which the Golden Stags kept in mind as they subdued fellow also-ran squad Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, Thursday afternoon at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
Former team captain Jahir Ebrahim led three Stags in double digits with 18 points of 17 attacks and an ace. Timothy Eusebio and Julius Lana had 16 and 11 markers, respectively.
Letran took the lead in the first three sets and San Sebastian played catch up. In that crucial second set, however, three straight errors from the latter at 22-all gave the former the equalizer.
Malazo lamented the loss and emphasized that it was their miscues that gave the Knights a chance. “Nagbawas lang kami ng errors,” he spoke of the last two sets.
“Kasi ‘pag ‘yung puntos ng kalaban errors mo lang, nagbibigay ka lang ng buhay sa kalaban,” the long-time mentor pointed out.
Prolific scorer Bobby Eusebio registered 22 points, but their captain’s production was not enough to carry the Knights to a win.
San Sebastian (1-5) will take on the Lyceum Pirates (1-5) on Sunday. Letran (0-6) will face the Emilio Aguinaldo College (2-4) on the following day.
The Scores:
SSCR 3 – Ebrahim 18, Eusebio 16, Lana 11, Ronato 7, Eugenio 7, Lazaro 2, Ongque A 0, Campuspos 0, Enano L.
CSJL 1 – Gatdula 22, Cistina 8, Alilio 5, Ramos 5, Ladeon 3, Dizon 2, Domingo 2, Almoguerra 1, Tumbali 0, Brioso 0, Sison 0, Timbreza L, Centeno L.
