Arellano University head coach Obet Javier had mixed emotions as his team ended their NCAA Season 98 campaign with a statement victory.
The champion coach said that while he’s elated to see the Lady Chiefs bag a sweep win against Emilio Aguinaldo College on Tuesday, a part of him is feeling sorry due to the fact that Arellano will miss the Final Four this season after years of making the feat.
“Pwede kong sabihin na masaya na malungkot,” Javier said.
“Syempre malungkot kasi after isang decade, bigla kaming nawala pero masaya kasi natapos namin ‘yung season na panalo so kumbaga marami pa talaga kaming ayusin sa team.”
("I can say that I'm happy and sad... Of course, I'm sad because after a decade, we will not be there but happy because we finished the season with a win. We still have a lot of things to work on with the team.")
This is the first time in a decade that Arellano won’t be participating in the Final Four and the Lady Chiefs won’t be able to reclaim they lost after falling to De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in their finals showdown last year in Season 97.
Javier admitted that fielding a young crew took a toll on them as all the teams have improved their play.
“Kung titignan natin, ‘yung mga teams talagang nag-elevate sila ng performance,” he added.
“Gano’n din naman sa amin pero ang problema sa amin, medyo maraming bata so hindi pa sila sanay sa crunch time na sitwasyon, kumbaga pilit sa hinog ‘yung team.”
("If you look at it, the other teams really elevated their performance... It's the same with us, but our problem was we had a lot of younger players so they aren't that experienced in crunch time situations. We were forcing the team to be ready.")
The tactician, though, said they will use this as a motivation for next season, where they will eye to return to the Final Four.
“Pero okay lang, gano’n talaga ang laro. May panahon na mahina ka, may panahon na malakas ka,” he said.
“Nakahanda naman kami for next year. Next year, pipilitin namin na maging maganda ‘yung performance para makalabalik kami sa Final Four.”
("But it's okay, that's the way the game goes. There are times you'll be weaker, other times you're stronger... We're ready for next year. Next year, we'll do all we can to improve our performance so we can return to the Final Four.")
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
