Aldin Ayo lets out a big roar after steering the Letran Knights to their first NCAA championship late last month. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Who is Aldin Ayo? That was the biggest question Letran had before the start of NCAA Season 91 last July.
Five months and a championship later, everybody knew who the Sorsogon native was, and Ayo quickly emerged as one of the most sought-after bench tacticians in the collegiate ranks.
As Ayo moves to La Salle, one of his former players has every confidence the young coach can also do wonders in the UAAP.
“When he started coaching us, I was still injured then, we didn’t know who he was or where he came from. All we know is he was a former Knight himself,” said Kevin Racal, one of the Knights’ stars during their title conquest late last month, in Filipino.
Ayo soon grew on Racal and the Knights, and they became one tight-knit crew that prided itself with a no retreat-no surrender mentality.
“The biggest lesson I learned from him was to never quit,” the Alaska rookie said, as Letran, a grit-and-grind all-Filipino squad, ended its 10-year NCAA title drought in Ayo’s first and what turned out to be his only year with the school.
Though it’s a painful pill to swallow, Racal said the team has to accept Ayo’s decision to pursue greener pastures. He has no doubt Ayo can make his mark in the UAAP, just like in the NCAA.
“Think about it, we didn’t really have a strong team yet he led us to the championship,” he said. “What more if it’s La Salle that has a strong lineup? If you add his system, I believe he can make them champions.”
However, doing it won’t be a walk in the park, said Racal.
“They have to surrender themselves to coach Aldin’s system. That’s where their camaraderie will be built. Their hardships can turn to a championship if they do it.”