By MARK REY MONTEJO
Former PBA guard and now collegiate coach Olsen Racela will officially begin his NCAA journey as Perpetual opens its campaign against Jose Rizal University in Season 100 of the men’s basketball tournament Tuesday, Sept. 10, at FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City.
With the departures of its stars in Jielo Razon, Joey Barcuma, Jasper Cuevas, Cyrus Nitura, Jun Roque and Mark Omega, Perpetual will most likely rely on its holdovers led by Christian Pagaran, who was named as the team captain.
“Pinaghandaan ko talaga itong Season 100, kasi ito na yung last playing year ko as collegiate player at syempre hinanda ko yung sarili ko na maging co-leader together with Nat Sevilla,” Pagaran said. “And role model kami sa mga team mates namin, specially sa mga rookies.”
Pagaran will have fellow mainstays JP Boral and John Abis at the forefront while rookies Mark Gojo Cruz and Ruvic Danag are set for their maiden appearance in the seniors division.
On the other side, the Heavy Bombers are leaning on Shawn Argente, Joshua Guiab and Jonathan Medina as the Louie Gonzales-guided squad is hoping to finally barge into the playoffs this time around.
Earlier this year and with the help of Ginebra star Scottie Thompson, Racela, who serves as an assistant coach for the same team in the PBA, signed with the Altas heading to the school’s 50th anniversary which coincides with the grand old league’s centennial season.
