Navarro dazzles in first game with Stags

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Renzo Navarro is glad to be back in his old stomping grounds in San Sebastian, this time in the senior’s division.

“I’m really comfortable,” he said after playing his first NCAA game with the Golden Stags.

“Coach Egay (Macaraya) told me that I have the freedom to show what my game is. I have a license to do what I can to help the team. There’s no pressure at all.”

Transferring back to Recto after a short-lived stint in La Salle, the diminutive Navarro dazzled in his first game for San Sebastian, finishing with 12 points, seven in the payoff period, to go with seven assists.

However, his stellar showing came with a defeat as defending champion San Beda downed San Sebastian, 76-67, on Saturday.

Navarro surrendered that though the Golden Stags had a legitimate chance to score the upset, the Red Lions’ depth got the better of them in the end.

“Coming into the fourth quarter, I really told myself that we got this win. The problem is they still had something in the bag. Clint Doliguez made the difference for them and we couldn’t respond on our end. They had the deeper bench,” he said.

Rather than be down, the 19-year-old guard said that the loss should serve as a lesson for San Sebastian, especially after they committed way too many turnovers at 25.

“It’s definitely a lesson for us. Whatever we got from this game, we have to improve on that so that next time, we’ll not just get those lessons but also the victory,” he said.