By MARK REY MONTEJO
University of the Philippines suffered a heartbreaking 76-75 loss to La Salle in Game 2 of the UAAP Season Basketball Finals and coach Goldwin Monteverde blamed it to multiple turnovers and crucial misses.
But that is now water under the bridge as Monteverde told his boys to forget about it, and instead focus on what is ahead.
“I guess ‘yong mga ganung missed free throws or shots are part of the game. As I said we did our best to try to execute naman what we want offensively,” said Monteverde moments after Game 2 last Wednesday evening, Dec. 11.
“Ganun naman talaga ang basketball, it’s either missed or made lang ‘yan,” he added.
The misfortune came from Francis Lopez who, unfortunately, missed his four straight freebies down the stretch after drilling his four attempts.
Talking about bad luck, Lopez, the Season 86 Rookie of the Year, followed it with a turnover off a failed pass to his teammate JD Cagulangan at the last 15 seconds of the match which was witnessed by a rapturous jam-packed crowd at Mall of Asia Arena.
For Monteverde, who guided the State U to its first title since 1986 after beating Ateneo, assured the 6-foot-6 athletic forward that their trust wouldn’t fade nor decrease in spite of what happened in the final minutes.
“Syempre ‘yong trust namin sa kanya malaki. As I said syempre, each member naman ng team, they try their best to make shots or to execute,” Monteverde continued.
“But then, I assured him [na] ‘yong trust namin sa kanya will always be there,” he added.
In that nerve-jangling affair, Lopez put up an all-around effort of 16 points, nine rebounds, one assist, two steals and four blocks.
UP, which is playing in its fourth straight finals appearance, is setting its sight for next game where it aims to regain its composure and hopefully, snare the elusive crown after its three failed attempts in the championship stage since 2018.
“Ang importante naman right now. From here, kung papaano magba-bounce back. Paguusapan naman ang dapat gawin and be ready for the next game,” he added.
“Sana manalo kami dun sa Game 3 na yun. Of course, paghihirapan namin ‘yon. Hindi madali yung laban na ‘yon,” said JD Cagulangan, who is seeking for a fitting farewell in his storied collegiate career.
“Pag-aralan namin kung ano yung lapses namin, matuto kami sa kung ano yung pagkakamali,” Cagulangan added
