EVAN Nelle and James Kwekuteye shared the court again and although playing for different teams now, they planned to relive their old bandana brothers tandem.
Those plans, however, did not materialize.
"Me and James, we talked about it before the game. We were supposed to wear bandana but bawal pala," said Nelle after the La Salle-San Beda gmae in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup.
See Evan Nelle, La Salle spoil Yuri Escueta's debut as San Beda coach
The Red Lions' bandana brothers split years ago when Nelle moved to La Salle, but he says the connection he had with former San Beda teammates stays the same.
"That's the brotherhood that me and the other guys built sa team na yan and I won't replace that with anything."
On the court, though, is a different story as Nelle punished his old alma mater with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two blocks while anchoring the big second half surge to help La Salle get a 61-53 win over San Beda.
The 5-foot-10 guard admitted that he marked this game up since the schedule came out, saying, "I was honestly really preparing for this game since I saw the schedule."
But there's really no bad blood but rather, Nelle just acknowledging how special this game is being the first time he really was able to face his old Red Lions crew.
"Seeing James, JB Bahio, mga ibang Bedista, you get goosebumps. My first two years there, we had good times. Ngayon, magkalaban na kami and this might be our last game facing each other," he said.
Though in different camps now, Nelle only wishes nothing but the best for San Beda, all the more as it welcomes a new coach in Yuri Escueta.
And he expects a bigger bounce back for the Mendiola crew when the NCAA Season 98 tips off later this year.
"For sure, under coach Yuri, they're gonna win. You see the system at even kami, hirap noong una," he said. "For sure, Beda will bounce back."
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