Agem Miranda knocked down a huge one versus Emilio Aguinaldo College on Friday
With less than three seconds left in the ball game, Miranda sank a tough fall-away to get the first buzzer-beating game-winner this season against the Generals, 61-60.
But according to Jose Rizal University’s head tactician, the 6-foot-1 guard was not among the main options to take that last shot – but rather the last.
“Alam naman natin magkakaron mga switching, magkakaron mga ganito. So Agem was the last option actually. Sumama yung dalawa kay Amores, siya yung nagkaron ng window mapasahan ni JL [Delos Santos],” said Louie Gonzalez.
“Ano yun e, kasi nalaman namin na magsswitch yung kalaban. So either si Ry or ako yung malilibre. So napagusapan namin ni JL Delos Santos na alam namin na si Ry yung idedeny talaga e, so wala kaming ibang option kundi sa ilalim,” Miranda seconded.
“So yun, pagkapasa sabi ko, ‘Sakin na to’. So yun tinira ko lang. Siguro binigay na din samin ni God yung panalo kaya din shumoot.”
It was a good one for Miranda, but he admitted that he felt all the nervousness going down the wire because of the Generals’ late-game rally that erupted to a 16-0 blast, covering the majority of the payoff period.
But thankfully for them, his shot went in to finally end their struggles after coming back from their health and safety protocols for almost three weeks.
“Nung una kasi kabado na ko non e. Kasi syempre ang haba ng run ng kalaban e, tas lumamang pa sila non. Sabi ko kailangan talaga namin manalo,” he said after finally getting back at the win column.
During the first round, JRU’s five-game winning streak started after a win against EAC.
And now, the 23-year-old scorer believed that just like what happened in the first round, this win against the Generals will boost their team’s confidence going through the next games.
“Para sakin talaga eto na yung stepping stone namin. Etong game nato. Kasi kung mananalo kami dito, tulad nung first round, sila rin yung naming natalo. And after namin silang matalo, nagcontinue na yung panalo namin. Kaya before yung game kanina wala talaga papatalo samin ganon. And ibibigay yung best namin para manalo,” he shared.
JRU will look to continue their comeback story against Arellano University on Sunday at 3:00 PM.
