He may now be preparing for the future, but outgoing team captain Ichie Altamirano believes he is leaving San Sebastian College-Recoletos in good hands.
Altamirano played his last game for the Stags on November 23, when they lost to Mapua University, 75-67. The veteran guard poured in a career-high 24 points alongside four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
And while San Sebastian failed to make it to the Final Four in the NCAA Season 98, Altamirano said the future remains bright for the school with Rommel Calahat, Jessie Sumoda, and Kenneth Villapando tipped to be the next set of leaders next season.
"Kumpleto pa rin naman 'yan eh, dalawa lang naman kaming ga-graduate," said Altamirano, who is expected to throw his name into the 2023 PBA Draft.
"Nandyan pa sila Rommel, si Jessie Sumoda, si Kenneth. 'Yung tatlong 'yan 'yung magli-lead na sa team na 'yan. May tiwala ako sa kanila and good luck sa kanila next season, manood-nood na lang ako."
Calahat was San Sebastian's leading scorer for the season, averaging 11.5 points in 16 games he played alongside 9.69 rebounds, 1.81 assists, and 044 blocks while Villapando normed 7.78 points and 7.44 rebounds.
Big man Sumoda registered 6.18 markers, 4.24 boards, 1.06 dimes, and 0.59 blocks.
Aside from these veterans, San Sebastian had also gotten solid outings from young guns Rhinwil Yambing, Raymart Escobido, Paeng Are, Tristan Felebrico, and Ameer Aguilar, who are all expected to get heavier minutes come Season 99.
Altamirano credited his teammates for putting up the fight against more stacked teams even as they fell just short of a semis seat, finishing in fifth place with a 8-10 win-loss card.
"Lumaban naman kami every game eh. Credit pa rin sa coaches ko and sa teammates ko, siyempre ginawa namin lahat para manalo every game pero kinakapos lang kami minsan sa mga talo namin katulad ngayon sa last game ko, kinapos kami," he said.
"Hindi kami pumutok lahat eh. Okay lang, at least lumaban pa rin kami."
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
