All for You
During the UAAP Season 81 Press Conference, University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers assistant coach Nap Garcia made a declaration.
“The mantra this season is not ‘Mayhem’, it’s ‘Hail Mary’.”
For many, what Garcia meant was that the Growling Tigers’ UAAP Season 81 Men’s Basketball campaign needs all the prayers it can get.
Coming off a disastrous 1-13 campaign a season ago, UST head coach Aldin Ayo retooled the lineup with a bunch of fresh recruits. With this, it is safe to say that the Growling Tigers lack the experience the other teams possess.
But that is not what ‘Hail Mary’ actually means for Ayo.
“We called it Hail Mary because well I’m a devotee of Mama Mary, especially [last Saturday] birthday day niya eh,” shared Ayo.
“It’s a prayer – Every time we pray we always honor the Mother Mary.”
Saturday, he and his team showed that they are no pushovers as the Growling Tigers gave the stacked NU Bulldogs a scare, only falling to a 70-75 scoreline.
“Double meaning if you analyze it because Hail Mary is a long shot eh. It’s up to you guys to interpret it but for me I always offer our game, and my coaching, as a form of prayer,” added Ayo, a devotee to the Lady of Penafrancia.
“Kayo na bahala.”
