During the postgame interview on November 26, Colegio de San Juan de Letrán Knights Head Coach Allen Ricardo gave high praise for Kevin Santos during their quarterfinals win against Arellano University at FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City.
Accepting His Role and Trusting Him with His Role
The 2nd-year Head Coach of the Letrán Knights admitted that a lot has changed since he took over the coaching duties for the team. One of which is the incredible development of their 6-foot-6 forward/center, Kevin Santos.
The 21-year-old was able to record 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a whole lot of slam dunks in their 87 – 78 win against the Arellano Chiefs last Wednesday.
In the postgame interview, the 39-year-old mentor for the Knights shared how vital and crucial their team bond is in order for him to know his players properly. He also noted how the connection and trust between him and his squad shouldn’t just be in the practices, but also what is being done beyond the basketball court.
This led to Coach Allen giving him an important role in Santos and trusting that he could live up to the expectations of his coach.
“Well, ang laki ng pinagbago ni Kevin kase I guess for me its about accepting his role and trusting him with his role. Yun yung importante kase siyempre last year, it was my first year, medyo searching kami sa isa’t isa and ayon, it takes a lot of time and it takes a lot of bond, you know?”
The Personal Adjustments of a Head Coach
Perhaps something that isn’t talked about enough in the sports media is how Head Coaches also struggle and take some time to properly understand and know their team well.
Coach Allen then shared about his personal side of how important it is for him to show that he actually cares about his college players and the essence “player to mentor relationship.”
“Kailangan ipakita mo rin na importante sila, kailangan ipakita mo rin na mahal mo sila. Hind lang yung mag pra-practice kayo. And importante yung relasyon sa kanila na ma-feel ng mga bata na how important they are, not just for me but also dito sa team Letrán.”
The navy blue and white squad actually faced a twice-to-beat disadvantage but still carried on to win a very crucial win in order to extend their Season 101.
The Knights will now play a Do or Die match against the Chiefs today, November 28, at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City at 2:30 PM.
