In a dreadful Season 99 campaign last year, Colegio de San Juan de Letran had to end its first round run with only a win that the Knights got after eight attempts.
A year after, the former three-time champions have already improved a lot, capping off the first half of Season 100 with more than twice of what they accomplished overall last season as they cruised to a 6-3 slate.
Knights rookie head coach Allen Ricardo said it all started with a change in attitude for the players. The rest, as the saying goes, just followed.
"Siguro sa akin, sinimulan ko lang sa pag-uugali kasi ‘yung mga techniques, lahat ng basketball coaches dito ang gagaling. Aral na aral so in terms of X’s and O’s, naniniwala ako na malalim ‘yung kaalaman nila," Ricardo said after their convincing 78-66 win over Lyceum on Saturday.
"Sa akin lang, as a coach, ang natutunan ko lang ay kailangan tama ‘yung pag-uugali ng mga players mo."
However, leading the Letran uprising isn't an easy task for Ricardo. He had to start from the ground up.
When he took over the Knights early this year, the team was reeling from a forgettable Season 99 journey that saw the team collect just two wins in 18 outings and sit at the cellar of the standings.
This is a challenge that the two-time juniors champion coach very much embraces.
"Challenge sa akin ‘yun, kung paano mo sila mapapasunod doon sa gusto mong mangyari and sa mga bata na ‘to," he added.
"I really appreciate them because they know the good values and principles in life, which is nadadala nila ngayon sa basketball kaya medyo hindi na kami gano’n ka-shaky."
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
