NCAA Season 93 Preview: Stags hope to learn from last year’s woes

Head coach: Egay Macaraya
Last Season: 8-10 (7th)
Holdovers: Michael Calisaan, Ryan Costelo, RK Ilagan, Jason David
Key losses: Jerick Fabian
Key additions: Renzo Navarro

Now on his second year at the helm for San Sebastian, coach Egay Macaraya is keeping the faith that last year’s lessons are already ingrained in his players’ minds.

“With what I’m seeing, the character of the boys and the character of the team is already there. Their willingness to win is evident,” he said.

The Golden Stags went 7-2 in the second round last year, but their ascent to the Final Four was hampered by their woeful 1-8 showing in the first round, including a nine-game losing streak.

Macaraya wants nothing of that again, especially with San Sebastian serving as this season’s hosts.

“I hope we avoid that because whatever we worked for in the past year will go to waste if we don’t learn from that experience and struggle in the first round,” he said.

The soft-spoken mentor will be bringing in an almost intact roster this coming year, with Michael Calisaan, Ryan Costelo, and RK Ilagan leading the fort.

And Macaraya is optimistic that the bitter memories of the past will be enough to propel the Golden Stags back into the Final Four.

“I guess with what we’re showing, everyone is stepping up to win games. If that happens, we’ll have a good season,” he said.

But for San Sebastian to do just that, Macaraya feels that the effort should be consistent as they try to fan their title hopes this coming NCAA season.

“I hope we sustain whatever good things we’re doing,” he said. “We promise that every game of ours will be exciting. The boys will be aggressive and people will see how competitive we are no matter who our opponent is.”