NCAA: Mclaude Guadaña's last ride with LPU worth it despite missing QF

For much of his young playing career, Mclaude Guadaña has donned the colors of Lyceum of the Philippines University.

From his high school career to his collegiate stint, Guadaña has always played for the Pirates — until last season, when he sat out due to a knee injury.

In his return in Season 102, however, things were no longer the same for the Pirates.

His batchmate John Barba had already left, along with another veteran in JM Bravo. Former LPU Junior Pirate standout Matthew Rubico also returned to his alma mater.

The biggest change, however, was the arrival of a new head coach in Jamike Jarin.

While the Pirates missed the quarterfinals in Jarin’s first year as head coach, Guadaña said his decision to stay with the Pirates for one last ride had been worth it.

“Oo naman, sobrang worth it. Isa sa blessings na dumating sa amin is ‘yung grupo ni Coach Jamike,” Guadaña said.

“In that span of time, sobrang dami pa rin namin natutunan. ‘Yung good habits na sa tingin namin nawala, nabalik sa amin. Sa tingin ko babaunin namin ito going to pro.”

(Of course, it really worth it. The arrival of Coach Jamike’s group has been a blessing for us. In that span of time, we learned so much. The good habits that we thought we lost, we brought it back. I think we’ll be able to bring this over to the pros.)

Guadaña’s run with the Pirates has been a roller-coaster journey.

In Seasons 98 to 100, the Pirates reached the Final Four, with LPU even gaining a twice-to-beat advantage in Season 99 before falling to Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the semifinals.

This season, however, the Pirates failed to make the playoffs.

Still, Guadaña remains optimistic about the Pirates’ future.

“Hindi ako nagwo-worry kasi the moment pa lang na nakikita ko paano niya (Jarin) i-push si Rubico, especially sa turnovers, alam ko na this team with Coach Jamike will go too far next year. ‘Yung mga mali ng rookies, sophomores na nakasama ko, alam ko magiging bala nila ito for next year,” he said.

“Ito sa tingin ko ‘yung experience na sinasabi niya na hindi masho-short cut. Need ma-feel and experience ‘yun for the upcoming seasons. Matagal pa sila maglalaro and alam ko na magiging maganda ang next seasons nila.”

(I’m not worried because the moment that I saw him push Rubico, especially with the turnovers, I knew that this team with Coach Jamike will go far next year. The mistakes the rookies and sophomore were making, they’ll make it a weapon for next year. I think this is the experience that you can’t short cut. They need to feel and experience it for the upcoming seasons. They’ll still play together for a long time and they will do well in the next seasons.)

Just as the future looks bright for LPU, Guadaña will also seize whatever opportunities come his way — whether in basketball, or public service as he currently serves in their community in the Sangguniang Kabataan, or in entertainment as he had previous modeling stints.

“Palaging may opportunities for me, pero the dream is to be in pro. Try pa rin ako hanggan saan matapos ang basketball career. After that, follow na lang ibang opportunities na meron.”

(There will always be opportunities for me, but the dream is to be in the pros. I’ll see how far the basketball career can go. After that, I’ll follow other opportunities that are there.)

—JMB, GMA News