San Beda University has established itself as the gold standard in NCAA football.
With 27 men’s football titles in the tournament’s history, the Red Lions extended their championship streak to four after defeating De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, 0-0 (3-2) in the Season 101 finals held last Monday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
For head coach Christopher “Niboy” Pedimonte, himself a product of the San Beda football program, this season’s title stands out as particularly special.
“Itong season na ‘to, masasabi ko na special dahil sa struggles na pinagdaanan ng team. From the selection of players, ang dami naming key players na nawala from Season 100. Hindi lang siya basta key players but ‘yung leadership ng mga key players na ‘yun talagang mabigat,” Pedimonte said.
(This season, I can say it’s special because of the struggles the team went through. From the selection of players, we had a lot of key players depart from Season 100. It wasn’t just key players but the leadership of those players that was really heavy.)
Among those who departed the team was former Most Valuable Player Amir Aningalan, who was also recognized as one of the first Collegiate Football Players of the Year by the Collegiate Press Corps.
Pedimonte credited the players who stepped up to fill the void.
“‘Yun ‘yung d’un ako proud sa mga batang ito na very resilient,” he added, especially after their loss to finals opponent De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in the elimination round.
“It served as a wake-up call para sa amin. Talagang nagtrabaho ‘yung mga players, so ang tingin ko, lahat ng credit is para d’un sa mga players talaga.”
(That’s what I’m proud of, the players who are very resilient. It served as a wake-up call for us. The players really worked hard, and I think all of the credit really goes to the players.)
That defeat ultimately fueled the team’s hunger to win. For Pedimonte, it reflects the essence of their winning culture.
“Ang tingin ko is it's a winning culture talaga. ‘Yung mga bata really wants to win,” Pedimonte said, recalling a similar scenario two seasons ago when Benilde also defeated San Beda in the elimination round, only for the Mendiola-based squad to still emerge as champions.
“They really wanted to win. ‘Yung willingness to win namin today, mas mataas kumpara sa CSB. Pero props sa CSB, they always push us to be better, ‘yun ‘yung maganda talaga.”
(I think it’s a winning culture. The players really wanted to win. The willingness to win today, it was higher for us compared to CSB. But props to CSB, they always push us to be better, that’s the good thing.)
But how is a winning culture built?
For the football team, it starts with being part of a broader community of champions.
“‘Yun lang lagi yung ini-inculcate sa amin ng coaches. It's actually the community talaga. Community of champions ‘yung San Beda lahat, karamihan ng events namin champion. So kumbaga, nagmu-multiply siya eh. Kumbaga nakakahawa ‘yung winning mentality ng first sem events.”
(What the coaches try to inculcate, it’s actually the community. San Beda is a community of champions, many events we are the champion. So it multiplies. The winning mentality of the first sem events, it’s contagious.)
Even players like team captain and Most Valuable Player Marc Pellejo have grown within that culture, having spent years in the program.
“Since high school sa San Beda na ako,” he said, recalling the moments leading up to their penalty shootout.
“Dito na ‘yung end ng product. Ito na ‘yung lahat na pinaghihirapan namin for 9 years. Simula nung nag-high school ako sa San Beda, hanggang ngayon sa last year ko para sa San Beda. Sa shootout, magbibigay ng outcome. So happy naman ako ‘yung outcome na ‘yun is ‘yung gusto namin na outcome.”
(I’ve been with San Beda since high school. This is the end product. This is the result of 9 years of hard work. From the moment I started with San Beda is high school until my last year here for San Beda. The shootout was going to result in the outcome. I’m happy with the outcome, that’s the outcome we wanted.
—JMB, GMA News
