OVER two decades ago, Letran claimed its 16th NCAA championship behind Boyet Bautista, RJ Jazul, Rey Guevarra, Aaron Aban, and Mac Andaya.
Fast forward to today and one of the more memorable names on that title team is back in blue-and-red - determined to help bring home a 21st trophy inside the walls of Intramuros.
“As assistant coach, as kuya ng mga player na ‘to, ‘yung mga pointers na hindi pa nila nakukuha, ia-add ko lang,” newly-installed assistant coach Kojak Melegrito told SPIN.ph.
Melegrito, for young basketball fans, was the good ol' Mr. Intangibles for those Letran teams coached by Louie Alas, who back then, often used adjectives like tough and competitive to describe him.
With a penchant for being right in the middle of incidents when he was playing in the NCAA, the now 40 year old is looking forward to hammering home toughness into this current crop of Knights.
“'Pag kalaban nila mga players natin, hindi nila tayo makakalimutan, lalo na sa physicality,” he said. “Ayun yung gusto naming iparating ni coach Allen [Ricardo], sa mga players natin.”
Kojak captures Letran's gritty win
Interestingly enough, Melegrito's first official game on Ricardo's bench just so happened to be Letran's rivalry game with San Beda in the 2025 Filoil Preseason Cup last Wednesday.
READ: Letran bests San Beda to clinch Filoil Preseason NCAA top seed
And with him on the sidelines, the Knights showed just enough grit to fend off their fierce foes and clinch the top seed out of the NCAA Group.
Up next for them will be a showdown with the UAAP's version of a gritty squad in Jeff Napa-coached National U in the knockout quarterfinals on Friday - and Melegrito is looking forward to keep giving help to his alma mater however he can.
“Actually, pagdating ko sa ensayo, malalim na ‘yung team na ‘to. Yung adjustment na lang nila sa execution, yung pagiging consistent na lang nila (ang tatrabahuin pa),” he said.
At the same time, Melegrito has no doubt that this experience will be a big boost to his personal plans.
As he put it, “Mayroon akong hinahawakan na mga ball club eh, so ito, good experience sa akin bilang coach.”
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.
