'Aric Magic' hopes to spark Perpetual Help sans Vidal

MANILA, Philippines -- Despite the loss of ace player Jett Vidal and key players to graduation, Perpetual Help Altas' head coach Aric del Rosario remains optimistic of their chances to return in the Final Four in the coming NCAA Season 89 wars.

"Sa nakikita ko ngayon maraming bago sa NCAA - coaches at players karamihan bago. Tayo, nakakaisang taon na dito kaya sana malaki tsansa namin na umabot ulit sa Final Four," said Del Rosario.

"Yun talaga target namin this year mag-Final Four pag umabot kami dun, dun na kami mag -iisip ng next goal namin," he added.

But it will be a daunting task for The Altas, who will parade six rookies this season.

Del Rosario admitted that it was not a smooth sailing for his rookies at the start.  Slowly but surely, he hopes that by the time the season starts they will be in perfect fighting form.

"Meron akong anim na bagong rookies, marami yun kaya yung adjusment sa amin hindi naging madali pero sa nakikita ko sa mga laro nakukuha na nila sistema namin," he said.

The architect of UST's four-peat in the 90's believes that he has a good crop of recruits coming in for this season stating that other coaches have been asking him where he found his new players.

“Marami nagtatanong sakin kung san galing yung (Juneric) Dizon, (Gerald) Baloria at (John) Ylagan, sana mag step up silang lahat sa season na ito,” said Del Rosario.

Perpetual is a fixture in all the pre-season leagues last summer and that is by design to acclimatize the new players to the  Perpetual brand of basketball.

"Araw-araw ang ensayo namin tapos sinali ko ang team sa Father Martin's at Fil-oil, nag-setup din ako ng mga tune-up games so maganda naging preparation namin para sa NCAA," said Del Rosario.

Asked to predict the Final Four in Season 89, the jolly coach gamely gave his picks for country's oldest collegiate basketball tournament.

"Sa tingin ko San Beda parin ang favorite tapos Arellano at Letran din malakas, sana yung pang-apat kami," said Rosario with a smile.