MATTHEW Rubico’s homecoming with Lyceum has been riddled with more lows than highs so far, but the do-it-all guard is keeping his head high knowing that smoother sails are coming for the Pirates.
He’s hoping that their 98-89 win over the Perpetual Altas will be the start of that turnaround in a game where he finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists to steady the ship for the Pirates who dropped four consecutive games prior to this win.
“Sarap sa feeling na makakuha ulit ng panalo kasi malaking boost samin ‘to,” Rubico said.
READ: LPU leans on big fourth vs. Perpetual to end four-game slide
“Young team kami e. Ilan lang ang veterans namin and puro bago kami, malaking bagay na nanalo kami. So nagkakaron kami ng boost sa sarili namin.”
Rubico, a transferee out of La Salle after a stellar run with the Lyceum Junior Pirates, has certainly done his part amid the struggles.
The 21-year-old has posted averages of 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists as he quickly became one of coach Jamike Jarin’s go-to guys alongside veteran guards Renz Villegas and McLaude Guadana despite technically being in his first year with Lyceum.
Being in that position despite being considered a ‘rookie’ by NCAA standards certainly entails him to make mistakes every once in a while and that’s where the coaches come in.
“It all starts with coach Jamike. Ever since we came in, we wanted the team to be a family. There will always be ups and downs and you have to trust your players from there. Most of the time, kaya nga coaches are there to guide them,” assistant coach Ryan Dy said when asked of Rubico’s growth alongside this young team.
“Madadapa yan e, given yan. All throughout the season, through their careers pero sama sama lang. Sama sama bumangon, sama sama matuto and coaches also learn from them, bawat players iba iba ang ugali, iba iba ang room for improvement, iba iba ang reaction, pero stick together lang,” he continued.
“End of the day, the more that we stick with each other and believe in each other the more na aangat kami.”
And the nice thing about this set-up is Rubico is more than willing to lend an ear and learn, knowing that they have to go through the process to get to where they want to be.
“Bago ako sa LPU, first year ko sa NCAA, new set of coaches din. Sinasabi ko lang sa sarili ko palagi na makinig lang ako sa mga coaches. Kila coach Jamike, kila coach Ryan, sa lahat ng coaches,” he said.
“Tinutulungan ko yung mga teammates ko, tinutulungan nila ako, sinasabi ko sa kanila na sa practice palang mag compete na tayo para pag dating ng game sanay na tayo mag compete. Tiwala lang kami sa sistema at pinagkakatiwalaan lang namin ng isa’t isa.”
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.
