Instead of a regular season series sweep, the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags settled for an even 1-1 record against the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers in the NCAA Season 94 Seniors Basketball Tournament. And it was their win last July 29 was overturned.
Five games into the season, San Sebastian’s RK Ilagan was caught playing in a “ligang labas” game in Tandang Sora without the permission of the NCAA or even San Sebastian. It resulted in their first two wins of the season being overturned – including their first round win over JRU.
Now, the Golden Stags are playing catch up with the top four teams of the league. Thursday afternoon, they were able to extend their winning streak to three at the expense of the Heavy Bombers.
“Well, sayang din, ‘di ba, ‘yung forfeiture na ‘yun. Nandoon sana kami sa contention na,” said San Sebastian head coach Egay Macaraya after their 82-75 win that raised their record to 4-9.
“Pero past is past, we just move forward. The good thing about this is, we are starting to win, so nakaka-recover na ang mga bata sa distractions.”
Playing like a man possessed in the contest was fourth-year swingman Allyn Bulanadi. Bulanadi had 27 points on 11-for-18 shooting.
Though it seemed like he wanted to exact vengeance on JRU, all Bulanadi wanted was the win, as it will still give them a chance in the Final Four race.
“Kailangan lang namin makabawi, kasi kailangan namin itong panalong ito para umangat kami sa standing. Marami pa kasing pwedeng mangyari sa game,” shared the San Sebastian lifer.
“Di pa rin naman kami nawawalan ng pag-asa na makapasok sa Final Four. So sabi lang ni coach, every game counts, kailangan na go hard talaga kami every game, bigay namin ang best namin.”
