Mark Cruz leading Knights’ small ball formula. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Even before the season started, critics have thrown doubts on Letran’s campaign.
From its All-Filipino line-up to guards leading the charger, coach Aldin Ayo fought hard and willed his squad to aspire for bigger goals.
And after Letran’s 91-90 semifinals triumph against Mapua on Tuesday, Ayo feels like his team is one step away from finally silencing their critics for good.
READ: San Beda drops JRU, faces rival Letran in NCAA finals
“Yung akin naman talaga, di excuse na wala kaming foreigner,” he said. “Dati sa Sorsogon, everytime na naglalaro kami dito sa Manila, ang feeling ko lahat ng kalaban foreigner. Kung nanalo yung Letran before na may import, siguro wala ako dito ngayon. Yung sistema ko, nakasentro talaga sa maliit: small ball.”
(For me, it’s not an excuse that we don’t have a foreigner. Before in Sorsogon, everytime we play here in Manila, I feel that all of our opponents are foreigners. If Letran was winning before with imports, I might not be here. My system really focuses on the smaller players: small ball.)
Letran could’ve found the right formula with Ayo as the Knights make their return to the Finals after missing out on the Final Four last year.
READ: Letran nips Mapua, returns to NCAA Finals
And how fitting is it that the man leading the charge for Letran is Mark Cruz.
The 5-foot-6 guard came alive in the third quarter, pouring 13 points to hold the fort for the Knights as the two teams engaged on a shootout. He finished with 24 points six rebounds, and six assists.
“Whatever you say about him, he’s just Mark Cruz,” Ayo said in Filipino. “His maturity is already there, and he just wants to win.”
Last year’s letdown has been the main source of motivation for Cruz and his fellow graduating teammates, and the diminutive guard is hungry to lead his squad to end the Knights’ 10-year title drought.
“Talagang gutom kami para makuha yung title. Kami nila K-Racs, nagkaroon kami ng another chance para makuha yung title,” he said.
(We’re really hungry for the title. K-Racs and I, we had another chance to get the title.)
Through all of the hardships, Ayo feels that Letran’s hardwork would bear fruit in the end.
“We always do our best through our hard work,” he said. “We’ve been working hard in our practices. There’s a lot of struggles, but we were able to overcome those.”