Sidney Onwubere. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Though there’s still a remote possibility of Emilio Aguinaldo College squeaking into the NCAA Season 93 Final Four picture with a 6-10 card, Sidney Onwubere has already accepted his team’s fate.
The Generals were often inconsistent as they struggled fight through injuries to their key cogs through the course of the season.
“When we lost against Arellano, we felt the season was already over,” he said, referring to their 84-79 loss to the Chiefs last September 22.
EAC lost Hamadou Laminou five games into the season due to a torn ACL on his right knee, while Jervin Guzman also suffered the same fate midway through the second round. Starting forward Juju Bautista also missed considerable amount of time after suffering a shoulder injury, but was eventually able to make it back to EAC in the second round.
Onwubere couldn’t help but feel that stars just weren’t aligned for the Generals’ after setting lofty goals of making it to the Final Four before the season started.
“It feels like this season wasn’t really for us. We had lots of struggle in this year’s campaign. It’s my last year and it’s really sad that we won’t be able to achieve our Final Four goals,” he said.
But though the season is already lost, the Fil-Nigerian forward said that EAC can still finish the season on a high as it faces St. Benilde on Thursday and Perpetual to cap off its eliminations schedule next week.
“I just told my teammates to enjoy our remaining games. Maybe that’s our goal right now, to finish the season strong,” he said.
As Onwubere’s collegiate career winds down, he’s also hoping to impart some valuable lessons to his teammates in their final two games.
“I want to show them that we can achieve a lot if we work hard. That’s something I want them to learn: the work ethic,” he said. “Even though we’re missing some of our teammates due to injury, we still have to work and show that we’re competing. In these last two games, I want them to do their best, work hard, and enjoy our game.”
But if there’s one thing Onwubere won’t settle for, it’s ending his collegiate career on the losing end.
“All I want is for us to win,” he said. “I don’t want to graduate on a losing note, that my last game in EAC will be a loss. Of course, I want to win.”