Back in NCAA juniors finals, Allen Ricardo looks back on Letran Squires’ ‘challenging’ journey

Published March 11, 2024 6:07pm

Updated March 11, 2024 6:07pm

The Colegio de San Juan de Letran Squires may have inched a little closer to their goal — a rare back-to-back NCAA juniors basketball crown — but head coach Allen Ricardo revealed the journey hasn’t always been all smooth.

Ricardo shared that it was a daunting task to regroup following the exit of NCAA Season 98 star Andy Gemao after the talented 6-foot-tall standout served as the team’s pillar in their championship run last year.

Ricardo admitted that Gemao’s departure caused many to doubt whether the Squires had what it takes to go for a second consecutive title, a feat only achieved once before by the squad.

“Medyo maraming mga naging challenges with the exit of Andy Gemao, parang they count us out kasi alam naman natin ‘yung kayang ibigay ni Andy,” Ricardo said on Sunday.

“Ayun, tinrabaho lang namin ng mga bata but aside from that, ang dami na naman ulit challenges sa mga bata, iba-ibang ugali ‘yan eh kasi 18 na players ‘yan. Pinagdadasal ko lang ‘yung sigla kasi parang nakita ko na nu’ng nawala si Andy, parang ‘yung spark ng team hindi na gano’n ka-jolly.”

[There were a number of challenges with the exit of Andy Gemao. People counted us out because we all know what Andy could do… So we and boys put in the work but aside from that, there were a lot of challneges. There are 18 players so everyone’s attitude is different. I’ve been praying that the energy stays high because I saw that without Andy, the spark of the team just isn’t that jolly.]

Despite the bumps on the road, the Squires continued to live up to the expectations.

Letran ended the elimination round as the second best team behind top seed University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (8-1), which dealt the Squires one of its two losses so far. They notched a 7-2 record and claimed one of the two twice-to-beat playoff incentives.

They then managed to clinch a statement 91-77 victory against San Sebastian College-Recoletos in their Final Four clash to arrange a finals duel against the Junior Altas.

“‘Yun ‘yung I’m trying to cope up na kahit na wala si Andy, kaya niyong itawid ‘to. And thanks to the Lord, we finished 7-2 sa eliminations and ‘yung mga talo namin alam naman namin kung bakit kami natalo eh,” Ricardo added.

“Pinaghandaan talaga namin itong semifinals na ‘to.”

[I’m trying to cope so that even without Andy, we can get it done. And thanks to the Lord, we finished 7-2 in the eliminations and even our losses, we know why we lost those games… We really prepared for these semifinals.]

—JMB, GMA Integrated News