Head coach: Ariel Sison
Last Season: 6-12 (8th)
Holdovers: Sidney Onwubere, Hamadou Laminou, Francis Munsayac
Key losses: Igee King, Jorem Morada
Key additions: Juju Bautista, Jerome Garcia
It’s now Final Four or bust for Emilio Aguinaldo College.
That’s the ultimatum coach Ariel Sison gave to his Generals as they prepare for war this coming NCAA season.
“To be honest, we want the Final Four now,” he said with emphasis.
One can’t blame Sison wanting to go all-in.
After all, this will be Sidney Onwubere’s final season, and the husky-voiced mentor wants a proper sendoff for his star forward.
“This is Sidney’s last playing year so we’re looking to reach that,” he said.
EAC won’t be relying on Onwubere alone, as it will still have Francis Munsayac and able-bodied transferees in Juju Bautista and Jerome Garcia to aid in this year’s campaign.
The bad news, though, is that Cameroonian big man Hamadou Laminou is out for the first two weeks of the season as he nurses a knee injury.
However, Sison still believes this Generals crew will be a force to be reckoned with this season.
“Our bench got deeper and I think that they’ll be capable of helping us to achieve what we’re aspiring for,” he said. “Every day in our practices, we remind them to give their 100-percent in training and especially in the games. And I can see that everybody is willing to step up for us to win.”
To end, Sison reaffirmed his vision for EAC this year and made it clear that there’s only one goal in mind.
“We’re hoping that we’ll be in the Final Four and we want it now.”