With JM Calma's departure, the San Sebastian College-Recoletos was left with a huge hole to fill.
But in their first game in NCAA Season 98, the Stags hardly missed Calma's presence, especially on defense, as they pulled off a 60-51 victory over Arellano University to begin their NCAA Season 98 campaign on a high note on Tuesday.
And head coach Egay Macaraya was glad to see plenty of guys ready to pick up the slack.
"Si JM Calma hindi naman namin maalis 'yun or mapapalitan but right now, yung tatlong big men ko are stepping up," said Macaraya in the post-game interview.
"So I guess with Jessie (Sumoda), Ammar (Cosari), and (James) Una, at least napupunan namin 'yung ginagawa ni JM Calma."
The 6-foot-5 Una made his presence on both ends, finishing with six points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one block while Cosari and Sumoda combined for 10 markers with Cosari firing two triples.
With the bruisers living up to Macaraya's trust, team captain Ichie Altamirano got some much-needed help in the win. Altamirano, the graduating guard, collected 10 points, four boards, and four dimes.
"Well, 'yung battecry ng mga bata ngayon is they play good defense and make them into offense so gano'n lang. So that's the battlecry," the mentor added.
But although they took care of their first assignment, Macaraya said it's still too early to say whether they can go the distance this season.
Still, he hopes they can continue with their tight defense, which helped them hold Arellano gunner Shane Menina to a scoreless outing.
"Well very satisfied, but this is just the first game. Wala pa tayong statement na magagawa, I just hope na every game madadala namin 'yung malalaro namin sa lahat ng liga na nilalaro namin," he said.
"But I'm very happy that the guys stepped up, especially on the defense and scoring also."
—JMB, GMA News
