San Sebastian College-Recoletos had a challenging start to the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament.
Under the leadership of new head coach John Kallos, the Golden Stags struggled to find their chemistry, resulting in inconsistent results during the first round of the season.
The Golden Stags opened with a 70-80 loss to a dominant Mapua University squad but rebounded by defeating Arellano University 111-86.
However, they faced setbacks with back-to-back losses to Lyceum of the Philippines University (72-83) and College of Saint Benilde (72-87).
Just when they seemed to regain momentum by ending Jose Rizal University’s three-game win streak (72-59), the Golden Stags stumbled against the struggling University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (50-64).
With a lack of consistency, Kallos decided it was time to gather his team off the court. The day after the loss to Perpetual, Kallos and the Stags organized a team dinner with San Sebasatian’s athletic director Fr. Virgil Paredes, OAR, who delivered a talk to uplift their spirits.
“Siguro malaking factor yung dinner namin after the game with perpetual ano. Nag-set up kami ng dinner with Father Virgil Paredes.
“We talked a lot kung ano yung mga differences, nagkaroon kami ng pagtutulungan at pagtitiwala. Yun lang yung napagusapan namin,” Kallos said.
The dinner had a positive impact on building the chemistry that had been missing in their earlier games, evident in their subsequent matchup against Emilio Aguinaldo College.
San Sebastian controlled the game against the Generals from the beginning, securing an 86-70 upset, with the entire team performing at their best.
“Matintiman talaga yung dinner, it was an important dinner.
“The dinner was simple lang, pero yung speech ng bawat isa, ni Father Virgil, ako, the rest of the team, was very important for us. Siguro doon very inspired yung mga bata. Nawala yung mga barriers, yung mga superiority. It’s all about us, hindi na me. Yun yung maganda,” shared Kallos.
The dinner and speeches from the team helped instill trust among the squad members, a crucial element in their mission to reach the final four.
“Napakalaking bagay noon na magtiwala kami sa bawat isa. Alam mo naman sa kahit anong bagay ang importante ay nagtitiwala ka. You cannot do something kung walang tiwala sayo yung na sa paligid mo. Pagnagtiwala kami, doon lang sa core namin, sa pamilya namin, mas maraming magtitiwala pag kami mismo nakita ng tao nagkakaroon kami ng support sa bawat isa. Yun yung importante, siguro yun yung keyword namin ngayon, win or lose, nasa sikod niya ako, nasa likod ko siya,” explained Kallos.
The reinvigorated San Sebastian squad faces another test as they go up against the defending champions, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
