Juan Gomez de Liaño entered the UAAP Season 82 Men’s Basketball Tournament bruised and battered.
“It started after Holy Week, so since April until now, I was never a hundred percent, so I had back spasms. Took me a long while to recover from that,” the 19-year-old shared.
“When we were in Japan, we had a game, I hyper-extended my left knee. So back spasms, back to zero. I was really okay in Vegas, I was good. We went to Japan, [then I] hyper-extended my knee. Back to zero again,” he said regarding his pre-season that saw him sit out the majority of it.
“And then it took me a while to just recover. But you know, people don’t know I’ve been really working hard to get back in shape, just to get my rhythm back.”
Unfortunately, though, the 6-foot guard could not find his Season 81 form that saw him make the All-UAAP team. In UP’s first five games of the season, Gomez de Liaño only posted numbers of 5.2 points and 2.8 assists on top of 2.6 turnovers in 23 minutes of game time.
Things got frustrating for him.
He would beat himself up after broken plays, he would go into the locker room mid-game to cry. He would also express his disappointment in social media.
So he needed one moment to lift himself up. And it came against the De La Salle University Green Archers on a Wednesday evening.
In the third quarter, he accidentally sprained his left ankle forcing him out. Still, he pushed through, sitting out only a few minutes before returning to the game.
“Dapat ‘di ko na pinilit yun because I really couldn’t.
“Our therapist, coach Grace [Siongco] she assessed me. I had my ankle taped. I was really in pain, but I really wanted to go back — to help my teammates in whatever way I can help, and just to not let the UP community down,” he said.
Already in pain all season long, he did not want to experience the pain of another loss. Though not at a hundred-percent, Gomez de Liaño proved that he is still a big-time player.
With the game on the line, Gomez de Liano made the biggest of plays, intercepting a wild Aljun Melecio crosscourt pass led to the game-winning triple with 7.8 seconds left. He capped off a season-best outing to the tune of his 10 points and five rebounds.
For him, it was more than just a game-winner. It was a moment that he personally needed to heal his ailments.
“I’m glad I really had the guts to go back, because I was really scared baka maging mas malala pa eh. The whole summer I was really injured,” he said.
“So I’m glad I took the chance to go back to help my teammates.”
