As De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde heads to the NCAA Season 100 finals round, the Blazers are seeing some semblance of their squad that reached that point two years ago.
For one, Benilde is riding on the back of a favorite to win the MVP plum in Allen Liwag — the same situation the Blazers were in 2022 when Season 98 MVP Will Gozum steered them to the championship round against eventual winner Letran.
They were also dominant that season, finishing as the top seed before giving San Beda the boot in their Final Four skirmish. Two years later, the Blazers would also dethrone the Red Lions in another semifinals encounter.
However, head coach Charles Tiu believes his current crop of players are different, saying he has a tougher and deeper lineup this time around.
"I think we have a tougher team, that’s one. We got guys who are a little bit physically gifted," Tiu said.
"I also gave credit to my staff, even the year when they were serving their residency, my assistants really put in a lot of work, coach Paolo, coach Rajko, they really helped form this team, develop them. It’s a completely new team."
Currently, only two remnants of their Season 98 run remain with the Blazers with veterans Mark Sangco and Joshua Cajucom. The two join Paul Turco, John Morales, and Kristian Jarque as the other holdovers from Season 99, making the present Benilde crew a completely different one.
"I think I only have five guys who are from the previous team, but we worked hard in the offseason to prepare and they delivered," Tiu added.
"I think we’re deeper than that finals team that we had so hopefully it’ll show in the finals series."
Parading a new-look squad behind Liwag and other transferees in Tony Ynot, Justine Sanchez, and Gab Cometa, Tiu is aspiring to finally give the school a title after coming close to it in the past seasons.
Tiu missed the Final Four altogether in his debut year in Season 97 due to the play-in games, but they regrouped the following seasons and made three Final Four appearances in a row, including a finals stint in Season 98.
And he's hoping that the long wait will be over for them soon.
" I felt that way when we made it to the finals, I felt that last year but it didn’t happen. But andito ulit kami," Tiu said.
"I can’t keep waiting, I wanna win one for this school, for the players, for their families so I hope this is a good chance for us but Mapua is the number one team in the league. It’s gonna be a tough series for us."
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
