Olsen Racela ecstatic to coach young but promising Perpetual squad

MANILA, Philippines – New head coach Olsen Racela brims with excitement and optimism when he debuts for the Perpetual Altas in the NCAA Season 100 on September 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

Appointed at the helm of rebuilding Altas in January, Racela said hopes are high for his wards to be competitive and give the fancied NCAA bets a run for their own money despite a young squad. 

Ten rookies will join the only eight holdovers in the Perpetual program in a bid to spring some surprises in the historic centennial season of the country’s oldest collegiate league to be hosted by the Lyceum of the Philippines University. 

“I am very conservative because I'll take it one game at a time, compete in every possession, keep up with the opponent, hopefully steal a win in every game,” said Racela, currently an assistant for Ginebra in the PBA and former mentor of FEU in the UAAP. 

"I admit that, we are not on their list of teams to beat this season and some experts say, we are not too strong this season, but that's not a reason to not be competitive.”

Mark Gojo Cruz, Bryan Manuel, Axl Jon Manuel, Emman Pizarro, Markkian Danag, Axle Rose Javier, Justin Thompson, Bryle Mascariñas, Iñigo Montemayor and Ralph Cauguiran will be the neophyte but fearless charges of Racela. 

Guiding them are skipper Christian Pagaran along with Nathaniel Sevilla, John Cedrick Abis, Jearico Nuñez, John Paul Boral, Gelo Gelsano, Shawn Orgo and Richard Movida as Perpetual deals with the departure of Jielo Razon, Jasper Cuevas and Joey Barcuma.

Young, inexperienced and all, the Altas are ready to go — especially with the guidance of deputy mentor Richard del Rosario and assistant team manager Scottie Thompson, also part of Ginebra in the PBA as assistant coach and star player, respectively. 

The Las Piñas-based dribblers will also troop into the NCAA wars with unwavering resources from a bevy of backers led by F2 Logistics, Fins and Claws as well as World Balance. 

F2, which also committed support to juniors and women’s volleyball programs of Perpetual, recently signed an agreement led by CEO Efren Uy and Perpetual team manager Anton Tamayo. 

“Hopefully they gain the experience early-on and matured immediately in every game and will help immediately this season and in the seasons to come," Racela beamed.