Wikipedia

San Sebastian Stags basketball

The San Sebastian Stags basketball program represents San Sebastian College – Recoletos (SSC-R) in men's basketball as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA). The San Sebastian Stags jointly own the longest championship streak in seniors' basketball, winning five straight titles from 1993 to 1997.

San Sebastian Stags
UniversitySan Sebastian College – Recoletos
Head coachArvin Bonleon (1st season)
LocationC.M. Recto Avenue, Manila
NicknameStags
ColorsGold and Red
   
PCCL Champion
2011
NCAA Champion
  • 1973
  • 1985
  • 1986
  • 1988
  • 1989
  • 1990
  • 1993
  • 1994
  • 1995
  • 1996
  • 1997
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2009

History edit

First titles edit

Colloquially known as "Baste", the school has won 14 NCAA seniors' basketball titles. The Stags joined the NCAA in 1969; they won their first title in 1974 led by David Supnet, Jimmy Otazu and Benjie Cleofas.[1] The Stags next title came in 1985; in 1988, the Stags then became the first team to win both pennants, finishing with a 10–0 record and an automatic title. San Sebastian was led by Eugene Quilban and Paul Alvarez. On the next season, the Stags faced the PHCR Altas in the Finals, averting an upset to win back-to-back titles.[2]

Five-peat edit

In 1993, San Sebastian began a 5-year title romp, starting with the efforts of Jesse Bardaje and Ulysses Tanigue, giving coach Turo Valenzona his first NCAA title. The Stags won the title again in 1994, again winning all 10 elimination round games, giving Rodney Santos the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and Rommel Adducul the Rookie of the Year award. They next became the fifth team to win three consecutive NCAA titles, winning the first nine games of the season, only to lose against eventual Finalist Mapua. The Stags won all two games in the Finals though.[2]

In 1996, the Stags were gunning for then unprecedented four consecutive titles. In the school's 50th anniversary, Adducul was named MVP and led the Stags to a Finals sweep against the San Beda Red Lions. The Stags won a record five straight titles in 1997, winning all 13 games for a perfect season. Now coached by Bay Cristobal, the Stags had a Finals rematch with San Beda, whom they defeated easily. Adducul had another MVP year, and was backed by Banjo Calpito, Jasper Ocampo, Tanigue, Brixter Encarnacion and team captain Rommel Daep.[3]

Turn of the millennium titles edit

Two years later, the Stags were in the playoffs again, but were upset by eventual champions Letran Knights, who were the #4 seed, in the semifinals. The Stags made it to next season's Finals as #4 seed themselves, only to lose to the Benilde Blazers.[3] San Sebastian broke through in 2001, beating the JRU Heavy Bombers in the Finals.[4] In a Finals rematch with Benilde, the Stags won this time to win the title in 2002.[5] The Stags failed to defend the title in 2003, losing to Letran.[6] The Stags barely missed the playoffs in 2004 due to tiebreakers,[7] but made it to the playoffs in the next year, only to lose to Letran in the semifinals.[8] At this time, the Stags were led by Leo Najorda and Red Vicente, and coached again by Valenzona.[9]

Pinatubo trio edit

The Stags were not to make the playoffs until 2009; in 2008 coached by Jorge Gallent, they finished joint-2nd with 4 other teams, but a series of tiebreaking playoffs eliminated them from contention. Gallent resigned after the season.[10]

In 2009, San Sebastian debuted three players from Pampanga, the so-called "Pinatubo trio" from Mount Pinatubo. Calvin Abueva, Ian Sangalang and Ronald Pascual, together with senior Jimbo Aquino and coached by Pampanga native Ato Agustin, the Stags finished joint first in the elimination round, and defeated three-time defending champions San Beda. The Red Lions defeated the Stags in a 2010 Finals rematch,[11] and again in 2011, this time now coached by Topex Robinson.[12] Robinson won the postseason 2011 Philippine Collegiate Championship, defeating UAAP champion Ateneo Blue Eagles in the Finals.[13] The Pinatubo Trio, now coached by Allan Trinidad, lost to Letran in the 2012 semifinals. Coached by a returning Robinson in 2013, the Stags would have a semifinals rematch with Letran where they lost. Robinson coached the Stags to a losing season in 2014, after which he resigned.[14]

After the Pinatubo trio edit

Rodney Santos, part of the 1990s champion team, was appointed coach in 2015.[15] Santos was sacked after coaching the rebuilding team to a losing season.[16] Now coached by Egay Macaraya, the Stags made it to semifinals in 2017 led by Michael Calisaan[17] and in 2019 led by RK Ilagan, but were eliminated in the stepladder semifinals by San Beda[18] and Letran respectively.[19] In the return of competition after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stags ended Season 97 on a losing record,[20] with later results not going their way resulting in their elimination.[21] Now led by Ichie Altamirano, the Stags were eliminated in Season 98 playoffs, with Macaraya being ejected for complaining to the officials.[22] Macaraya was then replaced by John Kallos for the 2023 season.[23]

Head coaches edit

Season-by-season records edit

Season League Elimination round Playoffs
Pos GP W L PCT GB GP W L Results
1999 NCAA 1st/8 14 9 5 .643 — 2 0 2 Lost semifinals vs Letran
2000 NCAA 4th/8 14 8 6 .571 7 4 2 2 Lost Finals vs Benilde
2001 NCAA 2nd/8 14 9 5 .643 2 5 3 2 Won Finals vs JRU
2002 NCAA 1st/8 14 11 3 .786 — 3 3 0 Won Finals vs Benilde
2003 NCAA 2nd/8 14 9 5 .643 — 4 2 2 Lost Finals vs Letran
2004 NCAA 6th/8 14 7 7 .500 3 Did not qualify
2005 NCAA 4th/8 14 7 7 .500 6 1 0 1 Lost semifinals vs Letran
2006 NCAA 6th/8 14 4 10 .286 9 Did not qualify
2007 NCAA 6th/7 12 4 8 .333 7 Did not qualify
2008 NCAA 5th/8 14 9 5 .643 2 2 0 2 Lost 4th seed playoff vs Mapua
2009 NCAA 2nd/10 18 16 2 .889 — 5 3 2 Won Finals vs San Beda
2010 NCAA 2nd/9 16 13 3 .813 3 3 1 2 Lost Finals vs San Beda
2011 NCAA 2nd/10 18 16 2 .889 — 5 1 4 Lost Finals vs San Beda
2012 NCAA 2nd/10 18 13 5 .722 2 2 0 2 Lost semifinals vs Letran
2013 NCAA 3rd/10 18 11 7 .611 4 2 1 1 Lost semifinals vs Letran
2014 NCAA 8th/10 18 5 13 .278 8 Did not qualify
2015 NCAA 7th/10 18 6 12 .333 7 Did not qualify
2016 NCAA 7th/10 18 8 10 .444 6 Did not qualify
2017 NCAA 4th/10 18 9 9 .500 9 3 2 1 Lost stepladder round 2 vs San Beda
2018 NCAA 6th/10 18 6 12 .333 11 Did not qualify
2019 NCAA 4th/10 18 11 7 .611 7 1 0 1 Lost stepladder round 1 vs Letran
2020[a] NCAA Season canceled
2021[b] NCAA 8th/10 9 3 6 .333 6 Did not qualify
2022 NCAA 5th/10 18 8 10 .444 6 Did not qualify
2023 NCAA 8th/10 18 6 12 .333 9 Did not qualify
  1. ^ Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. ^ Season postponed to early 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notable players edit

References edit

  1. ^ "More on NCAA". INQUIRER.net. 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  2. ^ a b "NCAA expansion in the 80s". INQUIRER.net. 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  3. ^ a b "Stags ruled NCAA in the 90s". INQUIRER.net. 2013-07-22. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  4. ^ Villar, Joey (October 3, 2001). "Stags claim NCAA crown". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Reyes, Marc Anthony (September 21, 2002). "Stampeding Stags snare it anew". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  6. ^ Rondez, Bobby (September 25, 2003). "Knights rule NCAA". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2004. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  7. ^ Times, The Manila (2004-09-04). "Knights knock out Stags of NCAA Final 4 round". The Manila Times. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  8. ^ Payo, Jasmine (September 10, 2005). "Favorites dispute NCAA title". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  9. ^ Villar, Joey. "Unlikely hero saves Stags". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  10. ^ a b Tupas, Cedelf (9 October 2008). "Gallent quits as coach of Stags". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  11. ^ Leyba, Olmin. "Lions kings anew in NCAA wars". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  12. ^ Villar, Joey (2012-08-21). "Stags coach Topex Robinson resigns". The Philippine Star.
  13. ^ Payo, Jasmine W. (2011-12-15). "Stags trim Blue Eagles for PCCL title". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  14. ^ "Topex Robinson resigns as San Sebastian Stags head coach". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  15. ^ "Focus on Ortuoste, Guinto as rookie-laden Stags try to bounce back from dismal eighth-place finish". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  16. ^ a b c Leongson, Randolph B. (2016-02-01). "New coach Macaraya hopes to bring Stags back to NCAA prominence". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  17. ^ Bacnis, Justine (2018-12-14). "Thanks to Egay Macaraya, Michael Calisaan all set to play guard in pros". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  18. ^ "NCAA: San Sebastian ousts JRU, faces San Beda next". ABS-CBN News. 2017-10-27.
  19. ^ "Letran ousts gutsy San Sebastian in NCAA stepladder". RAPPLER. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
  20. ^ "NCAA 97: Abando posts all-around line as Letran sends San Sebastian to the brink". Tiebreaker Times. 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  21. ^ "Perpetual survives thriller vs EAC, books place in NCAA play-in tournament". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  22. ^ Trinidad, Paolo (2022-11-15). "NCAA 98: St. Benilde extinguishes San Sebastian's playoff hopes as Final Four set". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
  23. ^ a b Jr, Rommel Fuertes (2023-01-03). "NCAA: Egay Macaraya, San Sebastian part ways as John Kallos named new coach". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  24. ^ a b c "These NCAA coaches cultivated breeding ground of future PBA stars". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  25. ^ "NCAA: New SSC coach Agustin eyes semis stint for Stags". GMANews.tv. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  26. ^ Villar, Joey. "Stags coach Topex Robinson resigns". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  27. ^ "Topex says rebuilding will take a while for Stags after Pineda boys' exit". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  28. ^ "Topex Robinson resigns as San Sebastian Stags head coach". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  29. ^ "San Sebastian taps Arvin Bonleon as head coach, Allan Caidic as consultant | NCAA Philippines". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
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