Mapúa University head coach Randy Alcantara discussed in a post-game interview on November 14, 2025 the sacrifices his players need to make, following their victory over the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Who’s Willing to Make the Biggest Sacrifice in a Team Full of Offensive Juggernauts?
After securing their sixth win of the current NCAA Season 101, Rebanse asked the champion head coach during the post-game interview how he would rate the defense his team displayed.
The 53 year-old mentor said that all of his players, including his rookies, are capable of shooting the ball and are definitely skilled offensively. But it’s only a matter of who’s willing to sacrifice their offense for the teams’ defense.
“Lahat tong [nasa] grupo na to capable, kahit yung rookies namin, kayang shumoot yun. Pero siyempre ang pinaka [kailangan] dito kung sino yung willing i-sacrifice yung offense nila to their defense para mai-stop, at least hindi man mai-stop, ma-limit yung mga ‘marked man’ sa kabilang team.”
In the 77-61 win of the Cardinals against the top team in Group A, the defending champions was able to record 11 steals and 2 blocks compared to only 4 steals and 1 block of the ALTAs.
Coach Alcantara then added how much they have emphasized their film sessions in preparation to play against the 8 and 3 Perpetual.
“Yun nga, after ng maraming film session eh. Yung pinakita namin sa kanila, ito yung itsura natin kapag hindi tayo dumipensa at yung kalaban natin hindi na tayo nirerespeto. Kailangan ipakita niyo rin na kaya ninyong makipagsabayan. Nose to nose, hard nose defense.”
In the first meeting Mapúa and Perpetual last October 8, the ALTAs were able to get the win with the final score of 75-65.
That defeat also marked the first loss of the Cardinals this Season 101 after going 2-0 to begin the tournament.
Coach Alcantara also shared that his team gave their all, most especially in the team’s defense, boxing out other players and in the rebounding category as well.
“Kung ano man ang pwede naming ibigay na ma-contribute sa team ito na yun. Yung defense, yung box out at yung rebounding namin. So napakita naman ng lahat yun.”
The Road to Back-to-Back Titles Gets Tougher
If there was one thing that was absolutely visible this Season 101 is the team’s inconsistency in winning games on a regular basis.
The win did get them to above .500 and is still the #2 team in Group A as they trail behind Perpetual.
But can this inconsistency be fixed right before the Play-Offs?
With a record of 6 wins and 5 losses, the team can finish with 8 wins as long as they take care of business in their last 2 games in the elimination round.
Truth be told, aside from being properly scouted by the rest of the league in limiting the scoring outputs of Clint Escamis, the team lacks a solid #2 scoring option.
It was a good thing that the supporting cast of the Cardinals showed up in their last game. Marc Cuenco had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, Yam Concepcion ended with 11 points, 4 boards and 2 steals as well as Earl Sapasap getting 10 points, a team high 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
But can they replicate this type of performance in their next games as they try and accomplish their penultimate goal of winning back to back titles?
