Letran Knights head coach Jeff Napa. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Sent to its fifth straight loss, Letran coach Jeff Napa admits that making it to the Final Four is the least of his concerns, for now.
“Di ko na iniisip yun. Iniisip ko na lang kung paano ko tutulungan yung mga bata mag-respond coming from a five-game losing streak,” Napa said. “Lagi ko nga motto sa kanila, ‘Sa dulo ng daan, merong liwanag.’ Yun target namin, yung dulo ng daan na yun.”
Letran fell anew to fierce rival San Beda, 83-71 on Friday as the Knights’ woes in the second round continued.
Despite his team’s struggles, Napa still lauded his players for giving their all.
“They still gave their best. Di lang talaga kami makahulog,” he said, after Letran shot 34 percent from the field which paled in comparison to San Beda’s 44 percent clip.
“We have to find answers dun sa mga tira namin. Kailangan praktisin pa namin ng maigi yung shooting namin para mahulog na ang mga tira namin.”
Napa also shrugged off the late-game incident involving the two teams, which saw tensions run high with just 7.0 seconds left in the game.
“Nagkilitian lang naman. It’s part of the game,” he said. “Kasama na rin yung frustration. Knowing yung team namin, hindi talaga kami basta-basta magpapatalo hanggang dulo. Lalaban at lalaban kami.”
Through it all, Napa is optimistic that the Knights will be able to get it together the next time out and end this bad streak which dropped them at 5-7, tied for sixth with Lyceum.
“Sinabi ko lang sa kanila na proud ako sa kanila dahil binigay nila yung best nila. Yun naman ang hinahanap ko sa kanila, na di kami basta-basta magpapatalo,” he said. “At least, may postiive pa rin kaming nakita.”
Letran faces winless College of St. Benilde next on Tuesday.