SAN Beda caoch Yuri Escueta wants the Red Lions to keep shooting three-pointers.
"Nagulat pa sila na tumitira sila ng maraming three-points ngayon, pero sabi ko lang dagdagan pa nila at i-shoot lang nila," he said.
See Evan Nelle glad to share court again with James Kwekuteye in preseason
San Beda took an average of 21.9 outside shots in NCAA Season 97, making 6.8 of those for a 30.8-percent clip.
This season, Escueta wants the Red Lions to shoot more.
On Sunday, San Beda made 30 attempts from long distance. Unfortunately, only six found the bottom of the net as the Red Lions bowed to La Salle, 61-53, in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup.
Still, Escueta is encouraged with what he saw.
"I'm very positive with what I saw. We were able to get open shots and I'd like to see more open shots," he said. "Yun naman ang sabi ko sa kanila, as long as we do the right things, get the open shots, ok ako. Walang masyadong nag-force ng shots and meron pa rin na konti, but we'll just focus on the things we do in practice."
Escueta also liked the materials that he has, with James Kwekuteye leading the charge and promising young players raring to prove themselves.
"They're a tough team. They have good guards and they can stretch the floor," he stated. "Nagulat nga ako na may materyales eh, but we have to get used to the way were trying to play now na medyo iba sa old way na nakasanayan nila."
A former assistant at Ateneo, TNT Tropang Giga, and Gilas Pilipinas, Escueta finally fot his first game as head coach out of the way.
"Sa akin kasi, it's all the same. Once you coach one game, I just focus on the game. It's not an event for me. It's a basketball game, kahit sa barangay, kahit sa inter-village mag-coach ka, parehas lang," said the former Red Cub.
"But it's a good experience for me. I like the atmosphere. As much as ayaw kong maging too emotional on what's happening around you, exciting pa rin. And of course, naka-coach na ako finally. Ang daming nagaabang ng first game ng San Beda. But as I've told them, we're only practicing for three weeks and there's a lot of getting used to on what we want to do."
Escueta is grateful for the players who are making this process easier for him.
"Hats off ako sa mga players ko kasi nga kahit na sandali pa lang kaming nag-ensayo, na-absorb nila yung gusto naming gawin. They're really trying to absorb everything during this transition and natutuwa din ako sa kanila," he said. "Talagang kailangan and we can't make excuses."
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