FOLLOWING THE RED Lions’ championship run in Season 99 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the 2024 rendition of the Collegiate Press Corps Awards night, held at Discovery Suites Manila, Pasig last June 17, honored coach Yuri Escueta as the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
In his third year as the main voice in the sidelines for the Red Lions, Coach Yuri ended a five-year title drought with San Beda as the underdogs for this past NCAA season.
The former Red Cub spent two years in the Lion’s Den for the Junior’s team before playing his collegiate basketball for the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) Blue Eagles in 2003, winning a championship with the team.
Coach Yuri recognized how this feat influenced his awarding by the Collegiate Press Corps, saying “That award is a bonus for winning the championship. The Coach of the Year Award probably is a testament of the hard work my players have done and all the help that I’ve gotten from the coaches that are around me.”
He reiterated how the support from the coaching staff reflects the “staff of the year” nature of his award due to not being the “only decision maker” with the team’s operations.
Despite obtaining the honors of men’s basketball of the year, Coach Yuri dedicated this award not just to himself but especially to his team as he reflects that “basketball has always been a team game.”
“As much as coaches affect ‘yung games, of course, I’m very humbled to receive this award, especially coaching against good coaches in the NCAA. So, [I’m] very thankful and again humbled to receive the award,” he added.
Finally, Coach Yuri remained grateful to the Bedan community for their unwavering support to all the games of the Red Lions, saying “we appreciate the support nila [Bedan community]. We are very thankful; they give us fire to work harder [and] to perform our best.”
He nevertheless assured Bedans that “just like last year, just like the year before [and] this coming season, we’re going to do our best and try to improve every time.”