ADMU vs FEU (Round 1)

I've been trying to sleep for the past two hours but there are just so many thoughts lingering in my head so i decided to just get up and create an entry. I had dinner at home right after the FEU game, studied a little for my quiz tom (even if my brain's not absorbing anything) and went to bed at around 930 because my body can't take it anymore. But then i woke up at around 1am and can't go back to sleep despite listening to Chinese songs through my iPod which normally puts me to sleep. Now here i am wide awake with so too many thoughts about the loss and the past week. I don't even know where to start.

I'll start with the most recent game against FEU. July 31 is the feast of our Patron Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who is the founder of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits. Obviously, it's a school holiday. In the past years when we have games during his feast day, we emerge victorious. I woke up this morning with a heavy feeling for some weird reason. But of course I had to exercise my mind to stay positive and i played really hard during the game even if i only scored 7 points, my lowest output this season. I have to give credit to their tight defense, which they mixed up well too, but I also felt that i settled too much from the 3-point line. We knew FEU will come out with energy and inspired because of the shooting incident (We continue to pray for the recovery of Mac Baracael and may the truth be revealed) but i felt that we could match their energy, which we did throughout the game where we led all throughout until the last 40 something seconds. For one, we could have taken them out of the game when we led by as much as 10 in the 4th quarter. But they never gave up and we weren't able to convert down the stretch. I won't complain about the calls of the referees although there were a couple that didn't go our way especially in the 2nd half, including the crucial one where I believe it was Adolfo who slapped my wrist upon releasing a possible game-tying 3-pointer. I was sure he hit my hand and not the ball because my hand was pushed back which forced my shot to end up short. (See this great captured shot by Nono Felipe http://nonofelipe.com/?p=37)

But it's already expected that calls won't go your way if your team is starting to pull away (might be a natural instinct to keep a game close to maintain the excitement) so it's important to really bury the opposing team when the opportunity arises. I couldn't resist a grin when i saw the "BIG 3" referees all at the same time in one game (Manalac, Mendoza, Tolentino). Hey, but they weren't too bad for the most part of the game, quite an improvement! I think we have to credit Commissioner for that! But it was Eric Salamat's disappearance in the 2nd half that really handicapped us in the end game. Apparently, he was kneed in the jaw. We know what Eric brings to the team, his defense, his dare-devil drives and his ability to create and to organize the offense. There is still no word whether he will be available but please pray for his recovery. Anyway, this is a learning experience for us! Better to experience a loss early and learn how to deal with it rather than sweeping the league then losing at the end and not being able to bounce back, sounds familiar?

P.S. Hats off to Rabeh for a splendid performance! 33 points, 20 rebounds.