College of Saint Benilde is keeping its fingers crossed, hoping that two-time Most Valuable Player Allen Liwag will be ready when it opens its campaign in Season 102 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament on 13 September at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Blazers head coach Paolo Layug admitted there is still no definite timetable for Liwag’s return as he continues to recover from an undisclosed injury.

“Our hope is that he’ll be ready to go by the start of the season, so he’s just trying to get better right now. Right now, we don’t know,” Layug said.

“We just want him to be at his best. So, for him, maybe he’ll be ready on opening day, maybe not. But whatever the case is, the whole team will be ready.”

With or without Liwag, Layug said the Blazers have enough firepower to remain competitive as they chase their first NCAA title in 26 years.

Liwag, who replaced Charles Tiu as head coach following his appointment as head coach of Phoenix in the Philippine Basketball Association, expects Justine Sanchez, Mowell Morales, Raffy Celis, SJ Moore, Bonn Daja, Ian Torres and Jhomel Ancheta to take on bigger roles, while Matthew Jucom and Drei Lorenzo are also expected to provide valuable contributions.

“Whoever you put there, we expect them to perform at a high level and play Benilde basketball,” Layug said.

The Blazers will also benefit from continuity as Layug is working closely with former head coaches Tiu and TY Tang before taking over the top job.

“For me, every year, you want to get better as a coach and as a team. While we still have a lot of holdovers in our system, we still try to fine-tune every year,” Layug said, adding that he remains confident that they will finally secure the crown they last won in 2000.

“I think, for me, it’s continuing the work. Whether I am the head coach or not, I try to give it my all.”