This season, Isaac Go has made for himself a collection of highlights that will forever live in Ateneo folklore.
From hitting a kneeling putback dagger against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws during Game Two of the Semifinals, to an under-the-basket and-one dagger that gave Ateneo a 1-0 lead over the De La Salle University Green Archers in Game One, Go was able to cap it by writing his own redemption story.
This time, it was ultimately for the UAAP Season 80 Men’s Basketball title.
With 24.7 seconds left, Go received the ball from Thirdy Ravena from the right wing and sunk a well-poised triple that halted the momentum La Salle had built, giving Ateneo an 85-80 edge. It proved crucial to their 88-86 championship victory.
But amid all the praises and delighted chants of his name from the Ateneo fans in Araneta Coliseum, he still doesn’t want to take all the credit by being called a clutch player.
“Everybody thinks I’m clutch because I’m making shots at that moment. But without the execution of the coaching staff, without their brains, and without the recognition of my teammates — I got a pass from Thirdy twice, I got a pass from Matt once — without them, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to take the shot in the first place,” he said.
“So if you call me clutch, it’s better to say that the team is clutch.”
What made the championship victory more special for the Blue Eagles was that it happened on the feast day of St. Francis Xavier, who — together with Ateneo patron saint Ingatius of Loyola — founded the Jesuit order.
“Actually, it’s the feast of St. Francis Xavier, so maybe he had a hand in it,” candidly added Go, a former Xavier Golden Stallion.
Compared to his past crucial baskets where he was always stoic, today the 21-year-old celebrated a little bit as he ran away from the basket with a faint smile and eventually slammed the floor in jubilation.
After the game, he continued on preaching that that single shot was just a culmination of all the hard work they did as a team — not as a single player.
“One shot doesn’t make a game. It’s a collection of possessions, small details that combined, make a win.
“The shot is one aspect of five years, it’s one moment. You have to take the joy in making most of the five years that you have in Ateneo,” Go shared.
Despite the greatness he has achieved, Go remains humble and knows that he is just one cog in one team with one mission.
