NCAA: San Beda still struggling with consistency, admits coach Yuri Escueta

San Beda Red Lions in NCAA Seasion 98. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Even after gaining momentum to end the first round of the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament, San Beda head coach Yuri Escueta wants to see more consistency from his troops.

The head tactician acknowledge that the Red Lions, who hold a 5-2 record record so far, still lack consistency which can hurt them in the long run.

“I’m still not that confident. We win, we lose, we win and we lose. I want to be more consistent. The mistakes I see are the same as previous ones. So what we do is we teach them, they fix it and then in the next game, they forget about it,” Escueta said after their 96-61 drubbing of Arellano on Friday.

Before Friday’s game, San Beda dropped a thriller against a hard-nosed Jose Rizal University, 83-80. Just a few days prior to that defeat, the Red Lions defeated longtime rival Letran, 76-68.

Escueta is aware that the Red Lions are unable to win more than three games in a row, preventing them from reaching the top seed.

While the team is holding the solo third spot, just behind Benilde (6-1) and Lyceum (5-1), Escueta has reminded his players that it’s something they should not be content about.

“This season is so far from over. After this first round comes another. I have young guys like Justine (Sanchez) and Jacob (Cortez). We have to do a lot of learning and checking of our individual mentalities and attitudes,” Escueta said.

San Beda Coach Yuri Escueta.
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Sanchez and Cortez scored 10 each in San Beda’s most recent victory over the Chiefs.

For the Talk N’ Text assistant coach, defense will remain to be the squad’s bread and butter heading forward.

“As long as we stick to what we do in practice, I think our defense is effective and it will hold up against good individual teams and teams that execute well. Our defense is really built for a team and not individuals,” he explained.

The Red Lions hounded the Chiefs with seven steals and three blocks while limiting them to an abysmal 32.9 percent shooting clip from the field (24-for-73).

“The system, I know they can follow it but if they get overconfident, they do their own things,” he added.

San Beda will next face the number one team in the league, Blazers, handled by Charles Tiu on Sunday, 3 p.m. 

Escueta holds huge respect for Tiu, as he sees him effectively using his playmakers to notch important wins in the season.

“Coach Charles always prepares them well. They have a good recruitment program, they have good players especially their point guards. That’s why I think they’re winning, their point guards are always composed.”