ALDIN Ayo surely knows how to bring the best out of his teams.
The latest proof is Converge, a new PBA franchise and one of the league’s few independent teams that has played like a powerhouse in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup.
The first time he was a rookie head coach, Ayo also maximized the talent on his team and led them to an improbable championship.
Just ask Rey Nambatac, who still can’t help but be thrilled when retelling the story of Letran’s 2015 NCAA Cinderella run.
Nambatac on 2015 Letran NCAA title run
After all, the Knights flew under the radar before Season 91 as they missed the Final Four the previous season and paraded basically the same all-Filipino squad under an unheralded rookie coach in Ayo.
Nambatac recalled the NCAA preseason press conference where the Knights were almost unnoticed despite being situated at center table.
“Start pa lang ng season na yun, talagang hindi kami pinag-uusapan eh. As in walang nag-iinterview sa amin. Walang nagtatanong sa amin,” Nambatac recounted on SPIN Zoom In.
The Knights, themselves, likewise had little belief in their chances due to the circumstances.
But Ayo believed – that they could make not only the playoffs, but go all the way.
“Hindi kami naniwala sa kanya nung nag-team building kami eh. Sabi niya, ‘magcha-champion tayo this year.’ Tinawanan lang namin,” Nambatac admitted.
“Masyado ka namang nangarap,” he added of what he thought about Ayo’s prediction. “Tingnan mo naman lineup natin. Halos pantay-pantay lang. pinakamalaki lang natin 6’4”, si Rey Publico, the rest, pantay-pantay na.”

“Tapos ang kalaban natin San Beda, si Ola Adeogun. Sa kabila si JRU, sila Potouchie. Sila Bright Akhuetie. Sabi ko, ‘Pano tayo magcha-champion niyan kung anliliit natin?’” he continued.
But after a 29-point rout of College of St. Benilde in their first game and winning their next six games (similar to the FiberXers’ seven-game win streak), the Knights fully bought in to Ayo’s suffocating defensive approach.
“Dun na kami nagkaroon ng…kumbaga nagising kami na tama nga si coach Aldin – kaya natin mag-champion,” Nambatac said. “Kasi yung confidence ng bawat isa sa amin, nakuha na namin eh.”
After finishing the eliminations in second spot behind San Beda at 13-5, the Knights entered the Final Four as the only team without an import. Still, they dispatched a Mapua side led by Nigerian Rookie-MVP Allwell Oraeme in the semifinals.
Against the archrival Red Lions in the finals, the Knights needed to go the full distance, before still surviving San Beda in overtime of Game Three to complete the improbable run and end a decade-long title drought.
“Nakaka-proud na part ako dun sa team na nag-champion,” Nambatac said.
But it was Ayo who had the last laugh.
Can he do the same with the FiberXers?
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