Aldous Torculas’ Reset Is Also San Beda’s Warning Shot
Winning a collegiate championship can feel like the end of the climb. For Aldous Torculas, it became the start of another one.
Before he wore San Beda red, Torculas was a homegrown UP story: a 6-foot-4 forward from the UP Integrated School pipeline, a UAAP Season 82 juniors Mythical Team selection, and a player whose high school numbers already hinted at the kind of all-around forward he could become.
At UPIS, he averaged 11.6 points, 15.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.3 blocks, and 2.3 steals, numbers that highlighted his size, skill, and athleticism. They showed activity and instinct; a player who could impact every facet of the game.
That version of Aldous eventually reached the senior stage with the UP Fighting Maroons, where he learned that talent alone does not guarantee glory. UP was loaded. Every practice was a fight for minutes. Every rotation spot had to be earned. But Torculas stayed ready, and when his moments came, he gave UP what it needed: energy, rebounding, defense, and plays that could swing the mood of an arena as the rim rattled.
His best-known UP moment came in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 86 Finals, when he came off the bench against La Salle and delivered nine points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and a block in just 15 minutes. UP won by 30, and Torculas looked like the kind of prospect who would enter a game cold and immediately raise its temperature.
A season later, he was part of the UP roster that captured the UAAP Season 87 championship. Then, in March 2025, the next chapter became official: Aldous Torculas was moving to Mendiola to join the San Beda Red Lions, a newsbit broken by ALL-STAR Magazine.
For most players, transferring from one champion program to another sounds simple from the outside. For Torculas, it was anything but.
“Last year nung lumipat ako from UP to San Beda its more like reset siya sa akin eh kase yun nga sabi ko nga na UP yung first varsity team ko and parang dun ako nag-grow,” Torculas told ALL-STAR in an exclusive interview.
“Siyempre at first kailangan kong makisama sa kanila alamin yung culture nila and ano yung sistema ni coach Yuri and from that siyempre ako na yung mag aadjust.”
The 21-year-old had to go through the same type of struggle any college student-athlete faces when everything familiar changes at once. New campus. New teammates. New coach. New expectations. New role.
“At first hindi madali pero pa-onti-onti nasasanay na ako.”
But the adjustment also came with something familiar. San Beda may run differently from UP, but Torculas quickly recognized the standard. The Red Lions were not trying to build a winning program. They already had one.
“Ang pinagkaiba lang yung systema pero yung kultura na manalo na hindi kami bababa sa standard level namin, nandoon eh. Nakikita ko sa both schools.”
A Winning Standard in Basketball
Torculas held onto what the Fighting Maroons taught him: do not be satisfied with your performance. Chase the next level before someone else demands it from you.
That mindset fits perfectly in the storied halls of the Mendiola campus. San Beda is the winningest program in NCAA men’s seniors basketball, and the Red Lions are coming off a Season 101 championship after sweeping Letran in the Finals. That title was their 24th overall, meaning the next one would push the program even deeper into history.
For Torculas, that number is not decoration. It is pressure.
“Siyempre yung standard namin is kami yung champion and kailangan pa namin higitan pa ng higitan yung standard namin. And ganun din naman ako nung nasa UP, nakita ko na nag champion siyempre, you have to work harder.”
At UP, he had to learn how to impact games without needing the ball. In San Beda, the challenge is bigger. The Red Lions are entering a title defense after losing key pieces, and head coach Yuri Escueta has already pointed to Torculas as one of the players who can take on heavier responsibility. In his first FilOil EcoOil Preseason Cup game in red and white, Torculas finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists in San Beda’s 75-67 win over San Sebastian.
That is the tension around him now. He is no longer just the spark plug who can check in, grab rebounds, finish in transition, and guard multiple spots. San Beda needs more. More creation. More voice. More leadership. More consistency.
Torculas understands that. His career has always been about proving there is another layer.
A Winning Momentum in the Pre-Season
Before his formal introduction in NCAA Season 102, Aldous has already given fans a glimpse of how well he could thrive in Yuri Escueta’s system.
Playing in the quarterfinals of Asiabasket NSAC 2026 and in the elimination round of the 19th FilOil Preseason Cup, Aldous has acknowledged that the chemistry of the team is getting stronger as they build momentum this preseason.
The early numbers support the feeling. After his 16-point San Beda debut in the FilOil preseason, Torculas added 15 points in a 102-77 win over Lyceum, helping San Beda improve to 2-0 in the tournament.
But his value is not just in the scoring column.
Torculas brings championship experience from UP, where he spent three seasons and posted 3.87 points and 2.33 rebounds per game in his final UAAP campaign. Those numbers do not scream “star player,” but they explain the hooper San Beda is betting on: a forward who already knows how to live inside a contender, accept a role, and still prepare for a bigger one.
He also brings a different kind of edge from 3×3 basketball. In 2025, Torculas was called up to represent Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA 3×3 Youth Nations League Asia-Pacific stop. In 2026, he was part of the Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 men’s team at the Asian Beach Games, where the Philippines opened with a 21-18 win over host China.
Eyes on the Prize
In the end, the main goal for Aldous Torculas while wearing the red and white colors of San Beda is still simple: win another championship and help the defending champions go back-to-back.
“That’s my goal and that’s everyone’s goal and yun lang nasa isip ko.”
Other teams may speak first about making the playoffs, reaching the Final Four, or proving they belong. San Beda speaks in trophies. That is the weight Torculas chose when he left the school where he grew up and entered another program where winning is not treated as a dream, but as a responsibility.
The move from UP to San Beda was not just a transfer. It was a test of identity. At UP, Aldous Torculas became a champion. At San Beda, he is trying to become something more complete: a leader, a reliable two-way forward, and maybe one of the pieces that helps deliver the Red Lions’ 25th crown.
The story is not finished. That is the best part. For now, Aldous is still adjusting, still learning, and still building trust. But every rebound, every defensive stop, and every strong preseason performance feels like a quiet warning:
The reset is over. Now comes the chase.
