Lester Prosper was visibly stung with the Columbian Dyip’s 123-127 overtime loss to Barangay Ginebra, Sunday night.
There were many reasons for the 6-foot-10 import to feel that way aside from the loss per se. He actually had a chance to tie the game, but his lay-up off a good, hard drive to the basket with around four ticks left unfortunately went short.
Prosper had a chance to grab his own miss as he was just under the rim, but the phalanx of Ginebra defenders around him managed to get the ball instead. And that paved the way for LA Tenorio to ice the game through free throws.
The loss is definitely hard to fathom for Prosper, as it also wasted his 45-point, 18-rebound performance.
Prosper did not receive the sendoff he had wanted — the Dyip have already been eliminated from playoff contention even before their game versus the defending champions — but he is nothing but proud with the way they all fought.
“All in all, I’m proud of my guys. It was an entertaining game — this is about entertainment.”
Prosper may not have gotten the result he had wanted with Columbian, but there really is no denying how the 30-year-old from Dominica made an impact to the upstart Dyip the moment he took the import cudgels from Kyle Barone.
In the seven games he played, the Dyip figured in a lot of down-the-wire affairs, and Prosper was nothing short of consistent as he posted per-game averages of 33.6 points, 16.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.6 blocks.
“If Lester came in early, siguro nasa quarterfinals kami,” thought Columbian head coach Johnedel Cardel. “We might have had six or seven wins, ‘di ba?
“Kasi five games, panay dikit yung laban namin, overtime.”
Prosper has definitely proven that he’s a good fit for Columbian. With that said, Cardel bared that the team is keen on having his services again next season, where the Dyip is expected to have matured a lot by that time.
“Pababalikin namin siya,” said Cardel, who’s now in his second season as Columbian’s chief mentor.
“I’ll see them next year,” on the other hand said Prosper, who has said before that he’s with the Dyip for the long haul and that he will be there to help the young team develop and become better.
“We’ll get better. Trust me.”
