Ateneo vs UE (Round 2)

The Ateneo vs UE game (Round 2) was almost a week ago yet it still remains very fresh in my memory. I have to admit that it was a game that was 'stolen' from them. From the start of the game until the last 4 minutes of the game, we struggled and played horribly on offense! I have to admit that our defense was pretty steady limiting them to only 50 points after regulation. But our offense was really ugly, missing point blank undergoal stabs and layups, missing wide-open 3-pointers, turnovers, etc. This is precisely why UE played mostly zone throughout the 3rd and 4th quarters. Until the last 4 minute mark, luckily, our shots started to fall one after the other.

A lot of people have been congratulating me for the big 3-pointer that forced overtime. But i have to admit that it was divine intervention. It was clearly a broken down play in that last 35 seconds: i fumbled the ball, got it back, dribbled once, got stuck, gave it to Rabeh, who gave it to Nonoy, who gave it back to me, Rabeh gave me a ball screen, i got free momentarily, took an up-fake, and the defender finally jumped, and i was able to get my shot up. It felt good once i released it and i knew it had a very good chance of going in... and it did! 50-50 all. I say it was divine intervention because we were in a similar situation against FEU in the first round where we were down by 2 points i think and i took an up-fake, got Barocca up in the air then fired the 3 but it was way off to the right. I know i could have easily made that shot but for some reason it was a poor release! God works in mysterious ways sometimes, you just have to keep trying! You win some, you lose some.

Going back to the UE game, overtime belonged to my teammates! They showed that they have the composure in close games and also the character to fight til the very end. I remember I got cramps in the last 1 and a half minutes in overtime, Elmer Espiritu just made a foul-counted put back to extend their lead to 3. Again thank God he missed his bonus free throw! Then comes Ryan Buenafe who attacks the basket and gets fouled for two free throws. Keeping his composure, he makes the first but misses the 2nd. Nonoy Baclao had the presence of mind to save that ball and tap it out off a UE player to regain possession. Rabeh gets fouled and knocks down two clutch free throws to tie the game. Then, a big time defensive stop. On the other end, we go to Ryan at the top of the key again to go one-on-one with his defender and former teammate Paul Lee. This time he drives to his left, meets to of the big men of UE, takes a bump, hangs in mid-air and scoops the ball beneath the outstretched arms of the 6'2 Espiritu and 6'5 Thiele, and the ball trickles in! Ateneo up by 2. Another crucial defensive stop on the other end and the rebound was secured by Nonoy Baclao who also hit 2 clutch free throws despite shooting only 60% from the line to seal the game.

It was a game that UE could have easily put away but we were able to steal from them. One free throw could have done it all for them, or even just one defensive stop, or one of those jumpers that rattled in and out again. That's why I believe in fate! I admit we played horrible but still managed to stay focused and fight until the end. That's a very positive sign for us. Hopefully a bright sign towards the clearer goal that's ahead of us!