He has given everything to lift the University of the Philippines basketball program, but King Maroon Jett Manuel was not granted the gift of going out with a win.
Sunday afternoon, the Fighting Maroons fell flat, falling by as much as 25 points against the University of the East Red Warriors. Willed by the large UP crowd in attendance, the cagers from Diliman rallied back early in the final frame, slicing the lead to just 12 points early in the final frame. However, the lead was just to big, and fatigue set in, resulting in an 80-67 loss.
All throughout the contest, the UP crowd in attendance – almost three-fourths of the Smart Araneta Coliseum were clad in maroon – were at a fever pitch. And no one left even after the final buzzer had sounded.
“I still can’t… It’s still surreal to see the crowd, to see the support this year especially playing my last game,” said Manuel, who finished the game with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Manuel played 30 minutes in his final UAAP game. In the short time he was sitting on the bench during the final frame, the 24-year-old looked back to the crowd and was in awe of the sight of the support the team had. Years back, only the most die-hard of alumnus and the required students watched the games.
But Manuel and this batch of Fighting Maroons helped bring the respect and the crowd back. This season, they were able to slay their streaks of futility against the Ateneo de Manila University, National University, and University of Santo Tomas. In addition, the five wins they picked up were the most they have had since 2005.
“Midway through the fourth quarter and I was sitting on the bench, even if we were down, I was looking around and grabe yung support. This was the first time I saw Araneta wearing maroon,” the skipper added.
“I’m just thankful about that. It’s really big for the UP community.”
Even if he did not get the farewell he had hoped for, the feeling of bringing the UP crowd together was more than enough for Manuel.
“Yeah at the start of course, I wanted to get that win to give back to the support we were getting. But in the end, it’s something na lang that we have to move past,” said Manuel, who averaged 15.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in his final year. “Everyone can agree that it’s always a sweet farewell for us. Last thing na lang is players come and go.
“No one is going to remember how many points I scored during the last few games, the awards that I’ve won, but I’m happy to think na the team’s going to build on whatever I left behind, the leadership that I wanted to impart to them and the values. I’m not the one to chase points and at the end of it all, that’s what I felt na I left behind and I’m happy about it.”
And he has no regrets even if he had to delay his engineering board exam and his pro dreams for one last dance with UP.
“No regrets at all. Everyone knows the sacrifices I made for this season and I’m not regretting doing any of those sacrifices. I can always go back and do whatever I left behind,” he said.
“The sweetest farewell was seeing those supporters together and supporting the team.”
