Emilio Aguinaldo College found itself in a tough spot, trailing by as many as 22 points against San Sebastian College-Recoletos as the shots just would not go down for the Generals.
But what head coach Jerson Cabiltes told the Generals at the halftime break turned the tides for them.
According to the rookie tactician, he challenged the players to put more effort into their defense after their offense struggled in the first half, where they made just 11 of their 29 attempts from the field.
"Actually hindi maganda ‘yung performance namin at the start but what I told them at halftime was we gave up 50 points and we missed 10 free throws, we’re down 14," Cabiltes shared.
"Sabi ko ‘yung free throws matatanggap ko pa na nag-miss kami but I can’t accept the fact that we gave up 50 points at halftime."
("Actually, we didn't have a great performance at the start, but what I told them at halftime was we gave up 50 points and we missed 10 free throws, we're down 14... I said, the free throws, I can accept that we missed, but I can't accept the fact that we gave up 50 points at halftime.")
And the Generals responded to his call to turn their attention to the defensive end.
In the third, San Sebastian - which scored 26 and 24 points in the first two periods, respectively - was held to just 13 as EAC stormed back into the game.
Nat Cosejo helped EAC tie the game at 70-all in the fourth quarter and Ralph Robin finished the job, burying two consecutive triples to give the Generals a 76-72 lead en route to a tight 80-77 victory to recover from a loss last Sunday.
"I told them that the only way to come back in the second half was to play tough defense. Credit to the boys kasi nag-respond sila doon sa challenge na ‘yun," Cabiltes added.
("I told them that the only way to come back in the second half was to play tough defense. Credit to the boys because they responded to the challenge.")
Robin, for his part, expressed gratitude for Cabiltes and the whole team for trusting him despite his struggle in the first half, where he shot poorly from downtown.
"Thankful ako sa mga coaches and sa mga teammates na kahit nag-struggle ako sa first half, wala akong na-shoot na three points, pero ‘yung tiwala nila at kumpiyansa sa akin nando’n pa rin," the graduating guard said.
"Sabi naman ni coach na ‘pag open, tira mo lang. Fortunately, pumasok naman."
("I'm thankful to the coaches and my teammates because even if I struggled in the first half and I couldn't hit a three-point shot, they still trusted me and had confidence in me... Coach just said, if it's open, just take the shot. Fortunately, they went in.")
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
