When Prince Orizu figured in early foul trouble against the imposing frontline of De La Salle Green Archers, the students and alumni of Far Eastern University stood up in disbelief. Collectively, they thought – it can’t end this way.
But clearly, Barkley Ebona didn’t get the memo.
Even if he was up against the wall of La Salle – which includes the likes of 6-foot-10 Taane Samuel, 6-foot-9 Brandon Bates, and 6-foot-7 Justine Baltazar – the 6-foot-5 big man out of Cebu Institute of Technology did not back down. He played as if it were life and death for him.
Ebona gave the Tamaraws the luxury of saving Orizu’s fouls for the final frame.
“Kailangan ko lang siguro ibigay yung best ko, tapos kung anong task na binigay sa akin ni Coach O [Racela], sinuklian ko lang yung tiwala na binigay niya sa akin,” he recalled about his mindset during that time.
The 22-year-old did his job, giving FEU extra possessions and putting them in a good position to at least compete against La Salle.
Come the final frame, Ebona had already tallied 24 minutes and he started to cramp up. But with Orizu fouling out minutes after he was treated, he knew he needed to dig deep.
“Mahirap kasi dalawang paa ko nag-cramps eh, tapos kumbaga, yung nagpapasahan kami kung sino babantay kay [Santi] Santillan kasi mas mabilis,” he shared. “Kumbaga, inisip ko na lang siguro na wala ng bukas, ibigay ko na lahat. Kung ano man mangyari, wala, wala akong magagawa, ‘yun ang mangyayari.
“Basta at the end of the day, at least wala akong pagsisisihan.”
Ebona eventually survived the game, ending up with a career-high 16 rebounds – 10 from the offensive end – to go along with 12 points. Moreover, he helped FEU advance to the Final Four.
And one of the people singing his praises was none other than Racela.
“He just typifies the Be Brave spirit of FEU. The way he goes for those rebounds, the way he defends… Ten offensive rebounds? Grabe ‘yung puso ng batang ‘yun,” said Racela, who is a PBA legend.
“He gave us a lot of extra possessions in this game. Kina-cramps na nga siya noong huli eh. Nilabas ko, tapos nag-foul out si Prince, so kailangan ko ibalik. And I was asking him the whole time: ‘Okay ka pa? Okay ka pa?’ Okay pa naman daw siya,” he gushed.
“So ganoon talaga ‘yung puso niya, kahit kina-cramps na ‘yun, hindi magpapapigil eh.”
