NCAA: Louie Sangalang working to change slowly but surely for Letran’s benefit

MANILA, Philippines—After serving his long two-game suspension, Letran bruiser Louie Sangalang is slowly changing his approach to the game.

Sangalang, who was instrumental in the Knights’ 70-67 win against Perpetual Help on Saturday, said he wanted to do more before being fouled out of the game.

“For me, I’m glad I got to contribute before being fouled out. I was on the bench for a long time due to foul trouble like the last game. It would have been better if I maintained my defense properly,” the forward said.

“Now, I really control my emotions to focus in the game. It’s not that hard to change, I’ll just do it little by little,” he added.

The 6-foot-4 anchor scored 12 points in the win, including eight big points in the last five minutes of the game.

Sangalang was suspended a few weeks ago during their game against Mapua due to two taunting technical fouls. 

His ejection was initially sentenced for a one-game suspension but official review saw him giving a referee the middle finger and cussing him out.

“Now, I really control my emotions to focus on the game. It’s not that hard to change, I’ll just do it little by little,” Sangalang assured.

Coach Bonnie Tan saw his front court player be motivated after Perpetual Help player Mark Omega’s challenge a few days ago. 

“We just challenge our players, especially our veterans. For Louie, I think he saw an article between him and Omega so I told him that it doesn’t matter if he says he’s stronger, as long as we win,” he said.

Sangalang, however, waved off Tan’s comments and said there was no bad blood between him and the Altas center.

“To me, it was nothing because he (Omega) went to me before the game and told me, ‘Kuya, wala ‘yon (that was nothing).’ We’re good friends.”

The Letran big limited Omega to just two points and nine rebounds.

Sangalang and the Knights will end their first round against Emilio Aguinaldo College on Wednesday,.