NCAA Season 91 preview: Undersized Knights banking on new system

By: Randolph B. Leongson - 9 years ago

Head Coach: Aldin Ayo
Last season: 9-9 (6th place)
Key losses: Coach Caloy Garcia, Ford Ruaya, Jamil Gabawan
Key returnees: Mark Cruz, Rey Nambatac, Kevin Racal
Key additions: Jerrick Balanza, Jomari Sollano

If there’s one thing coach Aldin Ayo believes that will help Letran this Season 91, it’s his style.

“They don’t know me. That’s the biggest advantage that I have as a coach,” said the Sorsogon native.

Being the fresh face to join the NCAA ranks, Ayo sees his appointment as the head coach of the Knights as a challenge after the move was met with a deluge of criticisms belittling Letran.

“People underestimate us and that motivates us. The players, the coaches, and the system, all of that. But they aren’t familiar with our system, compared to us that we’ve already scouted them,” he said.

But Ayo is not oblivious to the fact that his line-up for this season pales in comparison to the rest of the field when it comes to size.

Despite having familiar faces in Mark Cruz, Rey Nambatac, and Kevin Racal, the Knights have no reliable big men to compete against the foreign players of other teams.

But Ayo is no stranger to such shortcoming.

“I’m used to having small players. In the province, every time we compete, we’re undersized. This is not new to me. My system is fit with what I have, but of course, it’s better if we had bigger players,” said Ayo.

And he trusts his wards can do their part and give it their all on both ends of the court.

“I think more of the responsibility because there are lots of supporters hoping for great results. I feel responsible that we need to perform and we have to win,” he said.

“We’re going to give pressure, play tough defense, and execute on our offense,” said Ayo. “The only thing I can promise is we will fight until the last second.” CFC