San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez said his team is still groping for its form despite taking an 84-76 victory over Lyceum to jumpstart its campaign in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 97.
Fernandez said the Red Lions are far from their top shape since they started late in their training which was also hampered by the Omicron surge in January.
While the team were asymptomatic, the situation pushed back their supposed training camp to February.
“Marami kaming nag positive noong December eh so when we came back in January puro positive so we waited for everybody before we entered the bubble,” said the champion coach who also contracted the virus during that time.
The lack of preparation was hardly seen on the Red Lions in the first half as they were quick to shake off the rust and built a 19-point lead, 40-21, midway through the second quarter.
It finally showed up however in the second half, as the humid atmosphere seemed to gas out the Red Lions, allowing the Pirates to close the gap to seven points, 69-62, in the final frame.
San Beda then needed timely hits from JB Bahio in the waning minutes to put the game away.
Fernandez was happy to start the season on the winning note but he stressed that the team still has a lot of room to improve
“I’m so happy we got over this game. Probably six or seven (rating the team's performance). We are really not in the position right now to be in shape. We need to improve more,” said Fernandez.
He also lauded his rookies for their solid debuts although he is expecting more from them as they get accustomed to his system in the next few weeks
“I’m happy the way they stepped up, I'm happy in the way they played. Hopefully they can mature right away so that they can help us,” he said of his rookies.
“Maganda naman yung pinakita Yukien (Andrada) played well Winston Ynot gets good defense but hopefully Rhayyan (Amsali) gets into shape meaning he gets through with our system and hopefully makes a big impact for our game," he furthered.