Fran Yu may have broken the Saint Benilde Blazers on Tuesday afternoon.
Already having himself an impressive game, the 5-foot-10 floor general then drained the dagger triple with 1:48 left in the game, giving the Letran Knights an 82-74 cushion.
What happened after was one of the best celebrations this season.
The 21-year-old threw a flying kiss to the crowd, before waving goodbye towards the Benilde bench. It was the climax to the mind games he had been playing on Justin Gutang and the Blazers all game long.
“Basketball mind games yun.
“‘Pag nagpadala ka sa kalaban mo, ayun — tulad ni Justin, napikon, wala na siya. Ilan fouls niya sa akin? Dalawa ata magkasunod yun, inbound pa,” he recalled about what happened.
All game long, he and Gutang had been going at it. But it was Gutang who blinked, since he fouled out with 3:07 left. And yes, he accumulated two straight fouls against Yu for playing over-aggressively.
Yu, who had 19 points and eight assists in the game, said that it’s nothing personal. After all, at the end of the day, it’s just a game.
“Walang galit, walang galit. Basketball. ‘Pag sa labas magkakaibigan pa rin,” he said.
“With a smile naman yung ba-bye niya,” quipped Letran head coach Bonnie Tan.
Still, Saint Benilde head coach TY Tang — who was one of the silent assassins of La Salle back in the day — took no offense from it.
“It’s part of basketball. Kung mapikon ka, talo ka,” he said.
With the mental strength already there for Yu, though, Tan can’t wait for his physical to catch up with him.
“Actually he’s improving a lot. So sana wish ko lang sa kanya ma maintain niya yung momentum and alagaan niya health niya, ayaw lumaki ng katawan eh.”
