The Lyceum Pirates will have plenty of time to rebuild their roster in time for the start of season 96 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.
Newly appointed head coach Jeff Perlas will make sure the Pirates will be a competitive squad once again.
“It’s really a rebuilding process for us, hindi lang sa players, sa coaches din,” said Perlas, who took over the squad after Topex Robinson started handling the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters last October.
Players coming out of high school like Batang Gilas standout Maclaud Guadana and John Barba are expected to add some punch to the Pirates’ coming campaign.
With skippers Reymar Caduyac and Nino Ibanez still around, the Pirates are still seen as a threat to the San Beda Red Lions’ bid to remain as one of the dominant forces in the league.
“Siyempre ‘yung expectations ng mga players ay sa akin, especially the new guys like si Mac Guadana, si Barba, and some of those veterans na natira pa from that Season 93 like our captain si Caduyac and Nino Ibanez. Sila na lang ‘yung dalawang natitira. There’s really a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations, siguro especially for me rin kasi it’s really hard to replace a Coach Topex,” said Perlas.
League rules in the Philippine Basketball Association don’t allow head coaches from moonlighting as a coach for any other team out of the organization.
Perlas has been Robinson’s deputy since they handled the Pirates’ program for the last five years.
“I hope I can make a difference for these young guys, so it really starts from knowing the expectations first before moving forward,” added Perlas.
For now, members of the team are undergoing training via online means.
The other deputies in the Pirates’ squad include Rommel Adducul, Gilbert Malabanan, Ricky Reyes and Kevin Lacap.
When Robinson was head coach of the Pirates, they had back-to-back Finals appearances in Season 93 and 94, and reached the Final Four back in 2019.