ARELLANO opened the NCAA Season 102 storming out of the gates, racking up four straight wins behind the stellar, MVP-worthy performance of T-Mc Ongotan and a tireless crew of role players behind him.
And with the celebration in the surprise run also came a lot of maybes: Maybe the Chiefs are for real this time. Maybe they can’t sustain this type of run.
But for all the maybes thrown at Arellano, perhaps the only thing certain is maybe the Chiefs needed to lose again in order for them to figure out who they truly are.
READ: Valencia saves day as Arellano ends slump at San Beda's expense
They didn’t just lose once, they lost three consecutive games — two of which coming down to the wire — leading to this showdown with the defending champions San Beda Red Lions.
“Yung pag-tawid namin doon ang lalakas ng kalaban namin. Alam niyo naman yung group na yun talagang malakas,” Arellano head coach Chico Manabat noted after dropping close losses to Mapua, JRU and St. Benilde.
“Kami naman, naghahanda lang kung sino matatalo namin. Nagkataon talaga na natalo namin San Beda. Saludo ako sa mga players, sa mga coaches sa preparation na ginawa namin.”
And in what looked like another disappointing finish, blowing a 15-point lead while losing Ongotan to an ankle injury in the process — the Chiefs finally discovered who they are, a gritty young team who aren’t a pushover anymore.
Without their star and offensive engine in Ongotan, the Chiefs turned to their grit on the defensive end while trusting their vet in Basti Valencia to make the right plays on the offensive end to take their biggest win of the season.
For Valencia, all those losses might have hurt — but it left invaluable lessons with them.
“Samin kasi, gamay na namin. Di na kami bago sa pagkatalo,” Valencia said.
“Sobrang dami na naming scenario na napagdaanan na natalo kami at nireverse lang kami yung card. Yung nangyari samin nung dulo,talagang ineensayo ko rin yun pag nag-eextra kami.”
Manabat echoed the same sentiments. That stretch of losses, as ironic as it may sound, only proved what they were preaching from the very beginning. That everything is a process — and every process has a result, this being a big win against the defending champions.
“Ever since napunta ako dito sa Arellano, from the first season proseso yung ginagawa namin. We develop. Dinedevelop namin sila pieces by pieces at nakikita na nila yung ibig namin sabihin na it’s not just about the winning, it’s about believing in themselves para matalo itong mga big teams na’to,” Manabat said.
“They showed good character and the will to win. Not only did we start strong, we finished stronger at yun ang pinakaimportante.”
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