In University of Perpetual Help System DALTA's past five games, veteran and graduating team captain Jielo Razon was surprisingly not part of the starters of head coach Myk Saguiguit.
Prior to that, the seasoned guard got the start in nine of their 10 previous games.
But Saguiguit shared that it was Razon himself who made the suggestion to come off the bench in their succeeding games and so far, it is bearing fruit for the ALTAs squad as they are now on a four-game winning streak.
"Actually siya nagsasabi sa akin na ‘Coach, bunot na lang ako.’ Kasi ganon ako sa seniors ko eh so sa mga seniors ko ay parang assistant ko inside the floor (Actually, he was the one that told me, 'Coach, bring me off the bench.' That's the way I am with my seniors, I treat them like my assistant inside the floor)," Saguiguit shared on the heels of their 81-80 escape of erstwhile league-leading Lyceum on Sunday.
But regardless of whether he gets a starting or bench role, Razon still delivers no matter what, especially in the endgame.
That was the case in their two previous upset wins against San Beda University and the Pirates.
A jumper from Razon gave the ALTAs a crucial 58-51 lead against the Red Lions with 2:40 left in the game before his split from the line sealed the thrilling win for Perpetual, 61-57.
He did it again when they were seeking to pull off the same result against Lyceum on Sunday, dropping a one-handed floater in the final stretch before dishing an assist for the game-winning triple for Mark Denver Omega.
And Saguiguit is proud that his grizzled veteran guard remained as effective despite the fact that he's allowing the younger guys like Jun Roque, Cyrus Nitura, and Christian Pagaran take over early.
"Tinitignan ko ‘yung views nila, which is nagiging maganda para sa kanya kasi tuwing endgame lagi pa rin siyang andiyan," Saguiguit added.
"Kung pangit ‘yung first, second, at third quarter niya, ‘pag endgame nakaka-stop siya tapos meron pa siya kaninang good pull-up jumper na game-telling din tsaka ‘yung pasa pa kay Omega."
"Okay siya doon sa role na 'yun."
("I'm looking at their views, and it's been good for him because he's right there whenever it's the endgame. Even if his first, second, and third quarters aren't great, in the endgame he gets stops and today he had a good pull-up jumper that was game-telling and the pass to Omega... He's okay in that role.")
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
