Letran embraces underdog mentality in NCAA Finals series vs. Perpetual

Published March 18, 2024 7:32pm

Updated March 18, 2024 7:32pm

Colegio de San Juan de Letran head coach Allen Ricardo believes they are the underdogs against the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA in their NCAA Season 99 juniors basketball finals series.

And though they didn’t look like it in their 97-80 Game 1 victory last Saturday, the Squires knew they had to embrace this mentality as they went up against the top team in the league.

“Isa rin ‘yun (sa mindsets namin) kasi nga hindi lang naman si Andy Gemao ‘yung nawala sa amin, halos kalahati rin ng last year’s lineup ay nawala rin so talagang they counted us out,” Ricardo said.

“Isa ‘yun sa motivations namin na ipakita natin na kahit Andy is out [ay kaya natin].”

[That’s one thing because it wasn’t just Andy Gemao that we lost, we lost almost half of last year’s lineup so they counted us out. That’s part of our motivations to show that we can do it even with Andy out.]

Led by the 19-year-old guard Titing Manalili, the Muralla crew waxed hot right from the get-go before the Junior Altas caught up and even took a 46-45 lead at the break.

The defending champions then got their act together in the third period, where they put together a 32-point rampage while limiting the foes to just 15 to pull away for good.

Manalili churned out his best game of the season with a career-high 35 points alongside nine rebounds and nine assists, scoring or assisting on 57 of their 97 total points. George Diamante, meanwhile, weaved another double-double outing of 14 markers and16 boards.

But Ricardo stressed the job is far from done as they are headed to the hardest part of winning a championship: closing out a series.

“Sa akin, it’s just Game One so like what I’ve said last year, it’s all about how you play the game.”

[For me, it’s just Game One so like what I’ve said last year, it’s all about how you play the game.]

—JMB, GMA Integrated News