San Beda University Head Coach Yuri Escueta told media reporters after their Game 1 finals win that no matter who the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán has in their starting lineup, everyone must respect these players as they are, at the end of the day, basketball players.
Third Group > Usual Starting Five
To begin the Finals match between San Beda and Letrán, Head Coach Allen Ricardo decided to have his third-stringers and reserves in the starting lineup.
A move that certainly surprised a lot of fans, but Head Coach Yuri wasn’t bothered by it.
“Not really, that’s none of our business. What we really needed to do was our job [and that] is to start strong whoever is playing. And I’m sure that third group can play better than the first group, because my third group always plays better than my first group in practices.”
The 3rd unit of the Knights was: Luiz Tapenio, Alexandrei Gazzingan, Peter Rosillio, Aaron Buensalida, and Elijah Yusi.
“So you cannot take anyone for granted especially against-, these are all basketball players. I know you don’t see them a lot but they practice the same time as this other guys, as well as my third group, kahit yung mga reserve ko. Basketball player lahat yan, kailangan mo respetuhin lahat yan.”
In the end, the San Beda Red Lions capitalized on this gamble of Coach Allen as they immediately got to a hot start in the opening ticks of the first period.
At one point, the score was 15 to 5 in favor of San Beda, while at the end of the first period, despite reinserting the usual starters for the Knights, the score was 29 to 19.
Blessing to be Part of the Rivalry
It has been six years since the last San Beda-Letrán finals, and when asked about his experience on what it is like to be part of the longest collegiate rivalry in the Philippines, Coach Yuri told the media that this is a blessing.
“Of course it’s a blessing to be able to be part of this rivalry. I’ve been part of a different rivalry but this rivalry in the NCAA is different. So different experience for me and especially ngayon na me, as a head coach of one of the teams.”
Back in his collegiate years, Escueta was part of the UAAP rivalry between Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University, wherein he represented the Blue Eagles.
“So it always brings out the best of you, give out the best in you as a team, as an individual player, as a coach. And yun, you see what you’re really made of sa mga ganitong game.”
Learnings from Season 99
If there’s one thing that the 4th-year Head Coach of San Beda learned in their last title way back in 2023, it was not to be complacent despite taking Game 1.
When asked by the media if having the last few players from that season earned them a better advantage in this series, the 40-year-old mentor told reporters that what matters to them the most is that winning one game doesn’t win them a championship.
“This is a different team from [Season] 99 team that we had, si Yuki [Andrada], Jom [Puno] and Nygel [Gonzales] nalang ang natira doon eh. Isipin mo yun, every 2 years iba yung team mo. As a college coach every 2 years iba yung team mo.”
Back in Season 99, the Red Lions lost Game 1 against Mapúa University but were able to win two straight games to capture the title.
“What I learned from that Season 99 experience is [that] nobody wins that championship with winning game 1. And that’s something, that experience na nangyari kami yung natalo, we shouldn’t take the next game lightly. I’m sure Letrán is going to give their all.”
Win with or without Agjanti Miller
With the permanent decision that the super rookie of San Beda University, Agjanti Miller, will be suspended come Game 2, Coach Yuri told the media that they must remain resilient and find ways to win without their best players.
“We have to be ready. We’ve been in this situation before, we played CSB (College of Saint Benilde) without Agjanyti, we had opportunities to win. Sabi ko nga sa inyo ang basketball 5-on-5. Hindi yan 1-on-5, hindi yan 2-on-5, I’ve trust on the five guys playing. It would be nice to have Agjanti pero kapag wala si Agjati, other guys needs to step up.”
Game 2 of the San Beda against Letrán will happen this Saturday, December 13, at the Big Dome at 2:00 PM.
