Motivated Generals

Emilio Aguinaldo College Head Coach Gerry Esplana is grinning from ear to ear as his Generals finished strong after the first round of hostilities in the 89th National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors' basketball tournament.

The Generals are on a three-game roll and closed out their first-round campaign with an 89-80 win over the cellar-dwelling Mapua Cardinals.

"Obviously we ended the first round on a good note. Hopefully, we could carry this momentum in the second round. Third straight win, so magandang motivation ito para sa mga players ko," said Esplana, now on his third year as the top General.

EAC is currently tied with the San Sebastian Golden Stags, the Generals' first opponent in the second round on Thursday, at fifth to sixth spots with similar 4-5 cards and both teams are just one game behind No. 4 Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers.

"I like our position right now, malaking motivation talaga sa amin ito. Three straight wins papasok ng second round, sana magtuloy tuloy na," said Esplana.

Esplana believes his players don't need any motivation as the Generals are on a high after scoring wins over Arellano University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, and season host College of Saint Benilde.

"Dala dala namin sa second round ang mataas na morale. Psychologically motivated na ang mga players ko. At sa tingin ko hindi na nila kailangan pa ng motivation," added Esplana.

EAC, during their first year in the league in 2009 and with Nomar Isla as a coach, finished the first round at 2-7 and finished at seventh with a 6-12 record. The following season, the Generals had a 2-6 card after round one but spiraled all the way down to the cellar after dropping all of their assignments in the second.

Esplana came in during Season 87 and the Generals ended the first round at 4-5 and 4-14 the whole tournament. The former Philippine Basketball Association cager had his best season last year where EAC, after a dismal 2-7 first round, went 6-3 in the second for an 8-10 mark or just two games behind the fourth spot.

"Sabi ko sa kanila last year, 'hindi ba kayo naniniwala na kaya nating mag compete sa liga na ito? Nanduon na tayo, our only problem is we could not finish the game strong and how to finish na tayo ang victorious."'

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