Carl Tamayo proved why he is leading the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Rookie of the Year race thus far. And it came no less against his former team in National University on Tuesday morning.
The former Bullpup led the way for UP with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and two assists to stretch their winning streak to seven with an 84-76 victory.
Coming into this match, Tamayo was averaging 12.0 points and 7.14 rebounds through seven games played in the first round.
This time around, though, he insisted that he was simply trying to be aggressive. He was playing within the system, and looking to make his shots. This led to his career performance against the Bulldogs.
“Yung defense namin sa start, kami ‘yung umaatake,” explained the UAAP Season 82 Boys’ Basketball Finals MVP. “Nahahanap lang ako ng teammates ko, sumasabay lang ako sa systema. Siguro napunta lang sa’kin ‘yung laro and sinubukan ko ‘yung best ko para i-finish ‘yung mga pasa nila sa’kin.
“I’m trying to be aggressive lang every time nasa court ako – trying to help our team to start strong and finish strong.”
The Bulldogs put up a gallant stand against the loaded Fighting Maroons, especially in the third quarter. They were able to completely trim the deficit and almost gained back the lead.
UP, though, managed to answer back to create a much-needed separation and pull away with a victory.
In the end, Tamayo shared that his squad was just focused on getting the win, whether against NU or any other team.
“We approach the game the same way, kahit sinong kalaban namin,” said Tamayo. “Wala naman kaming pinipili – Ateneo or UE – kung ano mang team. We approach the same way, try to be aggressive all the time.
“The goal is to win the game kahit sino pa kalaban namin.”
Zav Lucero, who scored 16 points against the Bulldogs, felt the least surprised to see Tamayo’s stellar outing to start the second round. Still, he made sure to credit the rest of the Fighting Maroons for helping them come away with a grueling win and improve to a 7-1 record.
“Carl’s no secret to the Philippines and the world because of his talent on the floor and his stint with Gilas and all that,” said the 22-year-old transferee from Cal Maritime. “But it’s not only just us two. Malick [Diouf] is a big part of what we do. He would play 11 minutes, but he makes his impact felt when he’s on the floor as well
“He allows us to rebound and block shots, but I enjoy playing with everyone we have at the four and five spots. I think we have a lot of unselfish guys that are just willing to go out there and play hard, so it’s been fun.”
—
All UAAP games stream live on GigaPlay presented by Yamaha. Download it now on Android or IOS.
