University of Perpetual Help Altas to bank on veteran crew sans Akhuetie
THE Perpetual Help Altas will enter Season 93 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sans a major piece in Bright Akhuetie, but the Las Piñas-based school remains upbeat as it makes another run at the basketball title in the country’s longest-standing college league banking on its veteran crew.
Finished with an 11-7 record and was on track to upend eventual champion San Beda College in the Final Four in Season 92, Perpetual Help saw its program absorb a huge blow when Akhuetie decided to leave the school in the offseason and join the University of the Philippines over at the University Athletic Association of the Philippines ( UAAP).
The Nigerian left a huge void in the Altas’ system as he was one of the top players that the school relied on for scoring and rebounding last season.
With Akhuetie gone, Perpetual Help is turning to its other Nige-
rian player, Prince Eze, to lead the charge and possibly duplicate their Final Four finish last season or even better it.
“We need Eze to play well for us this upcoming season. But it’s not only him as we will need contributions from the other players as well,” said Perpetual Help coach Nosa Omorogbe as he talked about what is in store for them in Season 93.
To help Eze, the Altas made sure to keep its core of players, which includes AJ Coronel, Gab Dagangon, JG Ylagan, Keith Pido, Flash Gordon Sadiwa and Jack Hao, intact.
These were the same players, along with Akhuetie then, that helped the Altas be a top- half staple team in the standings last year and come within one win of overcoming a twice-to-win disadvantage against San Beda.
But while they remain upbeat amid a telling change in their roster, Mr. Omorogbe, himself a former player of the Altas, said they are expecting rough patches as they find their footing anew.
For instance in the ongoing Filoil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup, the Altas only managed to post a 3-5 record to make an early exit.
But they did show some good form here and there, including a stunner over UAAP team Ateneo, 60-59, in its final game of the tournament.
It was a loss for the Blue Eagles that proved to be huge relative to their quarterfinal hopes. Despite the struggles they are expecting to encounter along the way, Mr. Omorogbe said they are determined to overcome them by taking it a step at a time.
“It’s a process and there are no shortcuts to success. But we’re slowly but surely improving and I expect more improvements come the NCAA tournament proper,” he said.
NCAA Season 93 kicks off on July 8 with San Sebastian CollegeRecoletos as tournament host.