The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has long been a home to foreign student-athletes with the likes of Sam Ekwe, Donald Tankoua, Bright Akhuetie, and Hamadou Laminou coming through the ranks of the league.
In the ongoing Season 97, though, the NCAA witnessed a change in the landscape as the league no longer has foreign players seeing action.
And some coaches weighed in on who benefited the most — and the least —from this development.
Both Colegio de San de Letran coach Bonnie Tan and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde coach Charles Tiu agreed that not having foreign athletes actually leveled the playing field.
"Of course nagbago ['yung competition] kasi nag-level up lahat and pantay na pantay na tayo," Tan told GMA News Online, but added that despite the change, the level of intensity and competitiveness remains.
"But again, on our part, as the defending champions, sinasabi ko sa mga players ko na every opponent natin dito talagang they want to beat us."
Tiu named Letran and San Sebastian College-Recoletos as among those who have benefitted from the change this season.
Letran is used to playing without a foreign player and even ended San Beda's reign in 2019 when the Knights captured the Season 95 crown without having one on their roster.
"Of course Letran and Beda are still up there but all the other teams, mas nakaka-compete na. But I think Letran is the biggest winner because they've been used to an all-local lineup and maybe Baste," Tiu said.
"Of course the loser, if you can call them loser, but the one who got the short end might be San Beda because their foreign players have always been the best in the league. But they're still a great team."
Red Lions head coach Boyet Fernandez, for his part, said that while they may have been home to remarkable foreigners, their approach isn't vastly different from previous years.
Fernandez asserted, "It's still a game of basketball."
The decorated tactician added that they will focus on developing their local big men the same way they did their foreign players in the past.
"Medyo naiba lang 'yung itsura dahil walang foreign players but it's still a game of basketball. And it's a show of all locals," Fernandez said.
"We develop our foreign players eh, hindi naman sila instant na dominating. So ang ginagawa namin ngayon, we get big guys and develop them just like what we did with our foreign players."
Letran and San Beda, incidentally, sit atop the standings with both teams boasting immaculate 4-0 win-loss cards.
—JMB, GMA News
