LETRAN Head Coach Bonnie Tan started to feel the pressure of defending the Knights’ men’s basketball crown although the National Collegiate Athletic Association has yet to officially announce when 96th season would open—or not.
“I feel the pressure has increased,” Tan told BusinessMiror. “It used to be that pre-season predictions doesn’t include Letran as the team to beat. Now, they’re saying we are—and there you go, there’s that pressure.”
Tan’s “happy problem,” so to speak, are his three new recruits from University of Santo Tomas (UST)— Rhenz Abando, Brent Paraiso and Ira Battaler—who left their team in the aftermath of the now infamous “Sorsogon Bubble” that also cost Aldin Ayo his coaching job with the Tigers.
“When you are the underdog, it always feels great to beat stronger teams,” Tan said. “Now, we’re the targets and that’s not exactly comforting.”
The pressure, Tan said, work both ways.
“We welcome the pressure, and we’re teaching ourselves to become a better team to combat pressure,” he said. “With that in mind, I’ll help the players adopt to the task at hand.”
Letran lost big man Larry Muyang, who applied for the Philippine Basketball Association Rookie Draft, as well as wingmen Jerrick Balanza and Bonbon Batiller, but Tan remains confident of their chances.
“The players have become flexible and everyone on the team has learned to step up,” said Tan, adding his other new recruit, 6-foot-2 guard Brent Paraiso, could be a vital cog to their campaign.
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