Mapua University coach Randy Alcantara struggled to put into words the emotions and thoughts going through his head while the Cardinals celebrated on the floor of the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I don’t know what to say,” Alcantara said when the game anchor of the league’s broadcast partner asked for comments after the Cardinals’ seniors basketball title conquest 33 years in the making.

Tears welled in his eyes as his voice cracked, mumbling his words as his lips shook due to overwhelming emotions.

Finally, Mapua is back as king of the country’s oldest collegiate league in its 100th staging.

Alcantara and the Cardinals basked in glory after completing a best-of-three finals sweep of the fancied College of Saint Benilde.

What Mapua achieved was the result of decades of hard work, sacrifices and a sprinkle of heartbreaks.

For Alcantara, it was a career achievement that came full circle.

He was a member of the Joel Banal-mentored squad that won Mapua’s last crown before the long drought.

Now, he’s the architect of the Cardinals’ basketball renaissance.

Personal battles

Alcantara had some anxious moments late in Game 2 although the championship was already decided with Mapua up by 12.

There’s no way the Blazers can make a miraculous comeback with little time left on the clock.

But for the 52-year-old mentor, it seemed like an eternity.

“They were still making their free throws and threes. It felt like an eternity waiting for the time to expire. I was telling myself:” “What’s happening? Why does it feel like there’s still a lot of time? Are they going to make a comeback?” he said.

Who would blame him?

Last year, Mapua seemed poised to end the long wait. But the Red Lions denied the Cardinals the championship after stealing Game 3.

Two seasons prior, Mapua got a shellacking from experienced Letran in its first finals appearance in a long while.

Against San Beda in Season 99 finals Game 3, Alcantara had to head back to their dugout after her blood pressure shot up.

The mentor during that time was actually fighting his own battle — declining health.

“Last year during the start of the second round I could actually feel it. I noticed a rise in my blood pressure. I just found out that there was an underlying problem. My cervical spine has compressed from C3 to C7,” Alcantara shared.

“That’s the reason why I couldn’t fully coach the team last year. I would often leave the court.”

Alcantara felt he needed to hide it from his wards as he wanted them to focus on the game and not burden them with worrying about him.

“It was very difficult for me. I don’t want them to see me struggling and out of focus not giving clear instructions.” “So, what I did was return to the dugout and tried to compose myself while they continued to play.”

He went through an operation after last season, recovered quick and eventually got back into coaching.

“I went through challenging episode (concerning my health) but I’m grateful I overcame it. It’s cervical (spine), so it’s a serious condition and thankfully I was able to recover gradually,” Alcantara added.

“Thankful also to my co-coaches for helping me recover. During the pre-season they were there to whip the players into form heading into our campaign in the 100th season of the NCAA.”

Full circle

Wearing his old jersey No. 13 with the school’s formal initial MIT (Mapua Institute of Technology) emblazoned on it, Alcantara sat with his prized gunner Clint Escamis for the postgame interview.

Hanging on their necks were the game’s basketball nets — their spoils of war.

Alcantara was there back in 1991 when Mapua beat San Beda College at the Ultra (Philsports Arena) in Pasig City.

“It was also me that time who climbed up to the ring to cut down the net in Ultra,” he shared.

“After we won, my player approached me and gave me one of the game’s nets telling me that this was a gift for me. But I never told my players that back then I was also the one who took the net during our team’s previous championship.”

After his stint as a Cardinal, Alcantara found success with the Stag Pale Pilsen under Alfrancis Chua, winning a three-conference grand slam in the club’s first season in the Philippine Basketball League.

He eventually found himself serving Mapua as head coach of it’s the rebuilding high school team.

In 2016, he steered the Red Robins to the NCAA throne after years of being the league’s doormat. Mapua would lose the title the following year but reclaimed it in 2018 before his appointment as Cardinals tactician after years of being a deputy.

After two failed attempts, Alcantara and the Cardinals finally called themselves champions.

“I’m just thankful it was given to us. As I said, this kind of blessing doesn’t come to a lot of coaches. Being champion as a player and now as a coach,” Alcantara, a two-time Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League champion as coach of the San Juan Knights.

“I’ll give it to the players, they worked hard for this.”

Always grateful

Alcantara may be the hero of the Cardinals’ conquest, but the soft-spoken coach deflected all the credit to the long list of Mapua mentors that came before him.

He was inspired by the lessons and guidance given to him by Banal, Bong Ramos, Horacio Lim, Nic Jorge, Leo Isaac, Chito Victolero and Atoy Co.

“Those coaches inspired me. Again, this kind of achievement is rarely given to coaches. But I owe everything to those coaches especially coach Joel. As a player, I learned a lot from him,” he said.

“To all of the coaches, coach Leo, coach Horatio, to Atoy who I worked with as his assistant, I learned a lot from them. To coach Chito who is always there for me, supporting me. He helped me a lot which I applied to the players,” Alcantara added.

The long wait is over for Mapua.

Now, it’s on to the next with Alcantara as the captain of the ship.