LETRAN winning the NCAA Season 95 championship means a big celebration in Muralla to fete the conquering Knights.
It also means unli donuts for the players.
Letran coach Bonnie Tan made the day of his wards following their 81-79 Game Three victory over San Beda on Wednesday, promising to give his players all the donuts they want.
"Ngayon na nag-champion sila, kahit na unlimited donut sila, ok lang," said the soft-spoken mentor as he pledged boxes of J.Co donuts which he shared were the Knights' favorites.
But the reward isn't solely because of the title conquest, but rather, Letran making the most of its chances and going a perfect 19-of-19 from the charity stripe.
"Sa practice, minsan kapag nakaka-perfect sila yung free throws, there’s always a reward. We never stop practicing na hindi namin nata-top ang free throws namin," said Tan.
"Ang reward nila, mayroon silang donut na pang-bonding nila sa dorm. Everytime na nakaka-perfect shot sila sa free throw drills namin, always may reward parati."
He shared that enjoying dozens of donuts has been a tradition for the Knights ever since last season, when he was still the team manager.
"Tradition na nila since before pa. Ang inuutusan nila sa gabi, yung mga rookies ang bumibili," he said.
But if the Letran players fail to make their freebies during practice or even games, these rewards are being held off, with the coach sharing: "May mga recovery food kami na minsan, di namin ibinibigay sa kanila. Yun ang parusa namin sa kanila."
And what better time for the Knights to make all those free throws than in the biggest game of their season, when the lights were at their brightest - and the championship hanging in the balance.
To that, Tan can only gift his tireless players all the sweets they can devour.
"Kahit unli pa yan," he said with a smile.
San Miguel Corporation (SMC) president Ramon S. Ang, through SMC sports director and Letran's special assistant to the rector for sports development Alfrancis Chua, also gave a handsome reward to the Knights for winning the championship.
The bonus? They're not telling.