By Jerome Lagunzad
Miguel Oczon came through with a gem of a defensive play in the closing seconds as National University got back at Ateneo, 70-67, last night to force a winner-take-all showdown for the UAAP juniors basketball crown at The Arena in San Juan City.
With their title hopes still hanging in the balance with 3.4 seconds to play, the usually offense-minded Oczon proved he can also deliver on the other end as he stole an inbound pass by Blue Eaglets counterpart Jason Credo intended to Sean Ildefonso at midcourt then went all the way home for the final blow as time expired.
“Binigay ko lang talaga ‘yung lahat. Sabi nila, ‘Never say die’ di ba? Kaya sa steal na ‘yun, nag-focus na lang ako para mahabol ko ‘yung bola,” said a relieved Oczon, who finished with a game-high 17 points despite making just six of his 20 attempts from the field.
The thrilling victory, witnessed by an animated crowd that included Freego owner Eduard Tio who cut short his vacation trip to support the Bullpups as their godfather, enabled NU to stop Ateneo’s lofty bid for a perfect season and force a sudden-death showdown on Friday at the same venue.