What should have been a perfect day for University of the Philippines standout Carl Tamayo ended in disappointment.
After picking up his Rookie of the Year award for the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament, the 6-foot-7 big man played inspired basketball in game two of the finals series against Ateneo de Manila University.
However, one cannot win all the time and despite producing 18 points and 12 rebounds in close to 31 minutes of action, the Cebu native ended up on the losing side as the Blue Eagles were able to force a rubber match with a 69-66 win.
“Siguro next time, we need to be more composed,” lamented the 21-year-old Cebuano. “Mistakes are mistakes. Wala namang gustong mangyari yan. If my teammate makes a mistake, wala tayo magagawa dun.
“Siguro magandang learning siya sa amin as a team. Siguro yung tempo ng game, yung start ng game, dun kami nadale. And then si Malick [Diouf] nung na-foul trouble, siguro yun yung kailangan naming ayusin as a team. Yun lang naman.”
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the Fighting Maroons this evening is that they shot themselves in the foot.
A miscue from a James Spencer inbound play and Ricci Rivero inadvertently taking too much time in the end to make an attempt to score brought doom to UP.
Beforehand, Tamayo was benched from the 2:07 mark of the fourth quarter and brought back with 37.2 seconds remaining in the contest, which gave the Blue Eagles an opening to seize the contest.
All of these factors definitely compounded the Fighting Maroons’ woes.
“Siguro yung last part – anybody can make mistakes. Siguro nagkataon lang sa amin. I’m sure yung teammates ko babawi naman,” said the two-time UAAP Boys’ Basketball Finals MVP.
“Next play, I mean hindi naman lahat makukuha natin nang madalian eh. Siguro chance ito sa amin as a team and binigay ni God na challenge ito para harapin namin at ayusin namin,” he continued.
“Marami kaming matututunan sa game ngayon.”
With game three of the series set to be this Friday, Tamayo and his teammates have no time to sulk and dwell on this result.
Any enjoyment he may have had with the Rookie of the Year gong went out the window during tip-off of tonight’s game and come the rubber match – it is all about winning all the marbles.
“I mean yung mindset ko papunta sa game, yun lang naman eh. Nung nakuha ko yung trophy, hindi naman nagbabago mindset ko sa game. Gusto ko lang talaga manalo.”
—
All UAAP games stream live on GigaPlay presented by Yamaha. Download it now on Android or IOS.
