THEIR semifinal hopes are hanging in the balance, but TY Tang can smile knowing that the process is working for St. Benilde.
"Come what may sa amin. If it's there, it's there. If it's not, walang problema," he said after the Blazers' 84-68 win over JRU in the NCAA Season 94 on Tuesday.
St. Benilde's playoff aspirations hinges on the Mancom's decision on the case of Perpetual, whose transferees Edgar Charcos and Kim Aurin played in the Metro Basketball League last year during their period of residency.
The Blazers can still move into fourth spot and put an end to a 16-year Final Four drought if Perpetual's victories are forfeited.
Tang, though, is leaving everything to the decision-makers.
"We have written our letter of inquiry with regards to the ineligibility of the players. But for us, it's up to the board to decide on things. I trust our Mancom and our board for that and they are really handling everything well," he said.
"For us, it's more of the violations of the league rules, nandoon naman yun. Wala naman yun sa technicality of the game anymore. There's already previous cases that it has happened with that. It might just look sourgraping on our part, but then again, you have follow certain rules to make sure that everything is fair and square," he said.
"We'll just leave it up to them. If we get in the Final Four, thank you. If it's not, still thank you. We respect those decisions. That's why I think this is the longest collegiate tournament in our country today, because of that."
Tang knows St. Benilde is responsible for putting itself in this precarious position, with losses to Mapua, San Sebastian, and EAC dropping it outside of the Top Four with a 9-8 record.
But for the sophomore mentor, more of those could be attributed to the Blazers' unfamiliarity with the success they've experienced this season.
"We know we mishandled our opportunities, but I don't regret on anything this season. I can say that we've grown to become winners in our own rights. It's only a matter of maturity for our team. There were times that we think more of the tomorrow's score than today's, and it’s more of our problem. We have to continue working with the process, living by our principles and not by our feelings or emotions," he said.
"Every day is a gaining experience for our team and we just have to continue growing. For me, what's gonna be significant is if we commit the same mistakes. If we don't commit the same mistakes and we continue moving, growing together as a team, that's all I can ask for from my team, nothing more."
Still, Tang is glad that for the first time since 2014, St. Benilde won't have a losing season.
"As assistant coach Carlo (Tan) mentioned after the game, this is the first non-losing season that we had. We're 9-8, so at least, there's more wins than losses. There's that buildup, there's that growth, and hopefully, we continue growing every single day."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
