Last Sunday, Letran head coach Rensy Bajar remained steadfast in his belief that his team could reverse their fortunes, despite a winless 0-3 start to the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament.
“Hindi naman siguro the time to panic, but this is the time to trust the system, trust one another, tiwala sa mga kakampi, yun yung kailangan namin ipaaddress,” stated Bajar, a former champion in the UCBL with Diliman College.
However, one game later, the Knights still found themselves without a victory, losing 68-63 to their long-time rivals San Beda Red Lions and once again faltering in the final moments of the match.
Instead of celebrating their win, Red Lions head coach Yuri Escueta came to the defense of Bajar, explaining that he believed Letran was better than their record showed.
“We played them in the preseason a lot of times, we know what they’re capable of. Medyo rough start, but it’s still a long season. These guys are quite the college basketball players. I’m sure they’re gonna come back from this 0-4 start.
“And knowing Coach Rensy I know he’s going to prepare his boys. No surprise that they played this hard, we know Letran plays hard. That’s the reason they’re the three-peat champions,” said Escueta.
Escueta also empathized with Bajar’s situation, understanding the challenges of being a first-year head coach of a school with championship expectations year after year.
After all, during his first season with San Beda, Escueta could only steer his team to a third place finish. The Red Lions missed the Finals for the second straight season after making 15 straight appearances to the Big Dance.
“If it’s your first season, nakakakaba. Iba yung head coach sa assistant eh,” said Escueta, who had been an assistant coach since 2009 before making his head coaching debut in 2022.
“He lost also most of yung mga core players niya, which is tough diba? As I said, they’re gonna be ok. I’m sure they’re gonna come back stronger after this game,” he continued as Letran the likes of Fran Yu, King Caralipio, Brent Paraiso, and Louie Sangalang to graduation.
“They’re gonna be more bonded, and they’re gonna be fine.”
