With two key players out in San Sebastian College-Recoletos' 83-71 victory over Lyceum of the Philippines University, Stags head coach Egay Macaraya said they just lived up to the next man up mantra.
San Sebastian's starting guard Ichie Altamirano was slapped with a one-game suspension after a disqualifying foul in their 61-60 loss to San Beda University last Friday.
Compounding their woes was the absence of Michael Are, who according to Macaraya suffered a mild concussion after a head collision with San Beda's Franz Abuda.
But with the two men not available to suit up, San Sebastian still came out with the win all thanks to the heroics of JM Calma, Ken Villapando, and Rommel Calahat.
"The boys stepped up and ang hirap talaga maglaro kasi wala si Ichie [and] wala si Are plus 'yung kalaban namin nag-ta-trap," said Macaraya on Sunday.
"SI Ichie kasi nagkaroon ng unsportsmanlike foul so suspended siya ng one game tapos si Michael Are, dahil sa concussion niya against (Franz) Abuda, medyo nahihilo pa siya so hindi ko na pinilit."
Calma tallied a career-high 23 points, 19 of which he notched in the first half, to go along with 11 rebounds and two assists while Villapando carved out 12 markers and 14 boards.
Calahat, meanwhile, chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds, and four assists as they improved to 2-3 to keep their playoff hopes very much alive.
"Ang tawag ko (sa game) ngayon ay 'championship' dahil 1-3 kami pareho. But hopefully, ito na 'yung maging stepping stone namin dahil wala na kaming chance na matalo," stressed the veteran mentor.
"We have to win games as much as we can kung gusto namin pumasok sa top six."
—JMB, GMA News
