For Joshua David, the storybook ending to his UAAP career seems further away than ever.
The La Salle senior is in the final stretch of his collegiate journey, hoping to bring home one last championship before calling it quits. Unfortunately for David, Game 1 did not go as planned for either him or the Green Archers.
The Green Archers were overwhelmed by the UP Fighting Maroons in the second half, dropping Game 1, 65-73. They now find themselves just one loss away from watching the title slip away.
David himself had a subpar performance by his standards.
After averaging 6.33 points and 4.13 assists for the season, he was limited to just two points on 20-percent shooting before exiting the game in the third quarter due to cramps.
One-and-done guard Lian Ramiro, who only had spot minutes during the elimination round, closed out the game in his place.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
When the final buzzer sounded, much of the criticism fell on ace Kevin Quiambao, who was held to just one point in the second half as UP’s defense stifled him.
As team captain, however, David was quick to absolve Quiambao of any blame.
The 22-year-old guard out of Angeles City, Pampanga emphasized that the responsibility falls on him and the other veterans to step up during their superstar’s struggles.
“Siguro as a senior kailangan namin tulungan si KQ eh. At saka kailangan namin ng mga teammates ko na mag-step up,” admitted David.
David believes the first step to getting his game back on track is returning to the basics in training—breaking the game down to its simplest form and rebuilding from there.
“Siguro yun nga, parehong offense at defense yung pagkukulang namin eh so wala. Ganyan talaga eh, kumbaga back to zero ulit kami sa training namin kailangan namin bumawi,” explained David.
Being down 0-1 in the finals is not new territory for David.
The 6-foot combo guard played a crucial role in the Season 86 finals, where La Salle completed a reverse sweep of UP to claim the title.
But David knows that repeating the feat this season presents a much different challenge.
“Siyempre kasi kahit saan mo titingnan, iba yung last season sa this season eh. Yun lang talaga kailangan namin magprepare talaga sa Game 2,” he said.
David and the rest of the Green Archers will look to even the series in Game 2 on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
