Collegiate basketball has always been known for high drama and mind games played by the student-athletes against each other. Moreover, sometimes the games can get both physical and emotional due to the taxing and grinding schedule of the leagues.
No one can really blame the student-athletes for getting a little heated some times.
Tuesday afternoon, EAC General forward Sidney Onwubere tried to mess with Perpetual big man Bright Akhuetie for the majority of the tilt. However, the 19-year-old Nigerian was having none of it.
“He was just saying trash,” Akhuetie said about Onwubere.
“I did not let that get into my head and what I have in mind is just play basketball. I always expect that every game.”
With the game out of hand with 47 ticks remaining and Perpetual up by 14, 66-52, Onwubere tried to throw one last shot, bumping the big man after a foul was called on him. Akhuetie simply shrugged it off and headed to the foul stripe.
“It’s okay I’m used to it,” said Akhuetie, who scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Perpetual’s 70-53 win over EAC.
Frustrated with the loss and with the physicality of the game, the 22-year-old General did not bother shaking hands with Akhuetie after the game and even threw the ball towards the Altas big man.
“No, he just walked by,” he added. “He threw the ball at me and just walked out.”
The Nigerian student-athlete, who has been playing in the NCAA for two years, expects this game in and game out. However, he does not let this get the best of him in his quest for his first NCAA crown.
“I always expect that every game because they try to do everything to make me lose my head,” he closed.
