PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur - Year in and year out, it's assumed that San Beda will be representing CALABARZON in the Palarong Pambansa secondary boys' basketball tournament.
That's not the case in this year's edition of the annual showcase of student-athlete talent, however, as keen observers expecting Andrei Ugaddan flying high anew when watching Region IV-A were left confused to instead see 'DUTERTE,' 'MAMAUAG,' and 'PANALIGAN' on the backs of jerseys.
It's all because Dairick Duterte, Ali Matthew Mamauag, and Rainheart Panaligan of St. John's Wort Integrated School (SJWTIS) bested Ugaddan's Red Cubs in the Southern Tagalog Regional Athletic Association qualifiers.
"Unang beses po ito na kami ang representative ng CALABARZON. Nung natalo po namin ang San Beda, hindi kami makapaniwala kasi alam naman natin yung San Beda, big school yan ta's under coach Britt Reroma pa, pero yung mga bata lang talaga namin, masisipag," said shot-caller Jasper Magno, himself only two years into his coaching career.
SJWTIS is a K-12 educational institution based in Antipolo established in 1995 that 'combines the best of traditional and modern learning practices to create a holistic environment where every child can thrive,' according to its official brochure.
Officials would be the first to admit that their school is a relative unknown, as their student population numbers just a little over a thousand.
READ: Duterte-led CALABARZON downs Davao in stunning Palaro title game
And yet, these upset-conscious Stallions, with their morale boosted by taking down San Beda, comprised the core of the CALABARZON unit that would ultimately sweep the group stage then down Ilocos, Central Luzon, and defending champion Davao in succession to claim the championship.
"Grabe yung pride namin. Walang nakakakilala sa'min. Sa semento lang kami nagte-training at minsan, naaarawan pa kami. Sobrang laking bagay para sa'min na makilala ang skwelahan namin dahil dito," said Magno.
Duterte, their standout throughout the tournament, concurred by saying, "Sobrang laking bagay po dahil hindi po masyadong kilala yung school namin. Ngayon, kami po ang nagpakilala sa school namin sa pamamagitan ng championship na ito."
Surprise, surprise
In their eyes, though, that anonymity actually helped their cause, with all eyes trained upon the likes of Davao (Ateneo), Central Luzon (Pampanga DELTA), and National Capital Region (University of the East).
"Coming into this game (final), alam namin na mananalo kami kasi nag-prepare kami. Hindi nila (Davao) kami mapapag-prepare-an dahil hindi kami nagpo-post ng kahit ano," said their mentor.
"Baka naging advantage namin na tahimik lang kami, focused lang kami sa goal namin."
That did look like it was true, as no opponent was ever ready for the heft and post prowess of Duterte, or the timely shotmaking of both Mamauag and Panaligan.
Much credit then has to go to 29-year-old Magno, once a San Sebastian Golden Staglet before studying college in University of Santo Tomas, who took all these relatively unknown players and combined them to make a well-oiled, giant-slaying machine.
"Lagi ko namang sinasabi sa kanila na as a coach, 'di ko sila ilalagay sa posisyon na 'di maganda. Kaya nag-champion kami dahil yung mga bata, marunong makinig, masipag, maganda ang ugali," he said.
Entering Palarong Pambansa, not many knew that SJWTIS was representing CALABARZON.
So they introduced themselves in the biggest way possible: by convincingly claiming gold medals to take home to Antipolo.
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