In his first Final Four stint at the NCAA seniors’ basketball level, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA homegrown guard Mark Gojo Cruz found himself staring down a familiar duo: head coach Allen Ricardo, Titing Manalili, and the Colegio de San Juan de Letran program that denied him a juniors’ championship two years ago.
Across the floor stood the same partnership that crushed the Junior Altas’ Season 99 title hopes — a wound that continues to sting.
Knowing Gojo Cruz’s tendencies all too well, the Knights wasted little time getting into his head. The 21-year-old guard got tangled with Letran forward Jun Roque — his former Perpetual teammate from that painful Season 99 run — resulting in his third foul with still 7:20 to go in the second quarter.
Ricardo piled on the pressure in the payoff period, barking at Gojo Cruz in key moments as Letran fended off Perpetual’s late push to secure Game 1 of the NCAA Season 101 Seniors’ Basketball Tournament semifinals.
“Actually, kapag nasa side nga ako ng bench ni coach Allen, sinisigawan niya ako ‘eh: ‘Titira ito, titira ito.’ Ang pinapasabay niya sa akin ay si [Kevin] Santos para yung three points ko, mailang ako. Ako naman, mataas respeto ko kay coach Allen kasi maganda yung sistema niya,” Gojo Cruz said.
“Wala naman, part of the game lang talaga. Syempre ano ‘eh, playoff atmosphere na ‘eh. Kasama talaga, pero ‘yon nga, nagpadala ako at naging selfish ako doon. Naka-ano ‘yon ‘eh, nakaapekto sa playing time ko and nakatatlong foul agad ako. Pati sa depensa, nailang ako kasi baka maka-foul na naman ako. Kailangan ko bumawi next game,” he added.
“Naging selfish ako. Hindi ko ‘man lang inisip yung team at dapat next game, maging ready na ako doon.”
Fully aware that the past crept up and rattled him, Gojo Cruz refuses to let one subpar outing — a 10-point, 4-of-13 shooting performance with three rebounds and two assists — derail his mission to settle an old score with Letran.
For the Santa Maria, Bulacan native, this high-stakes showdown has only reignited his desire to close the chapter that Season 99 left unfinished. And not just for himself, but for an Altas program hungry to turn heartbreak into a long-awaited NCAA seniors’ basketball crown.
“Gigil nga ako manalo kasi nung Season 99 na juniors tournament, finals ‘yon, talo kami sa kanila pa at sa tag team pa nilang dalawa [ni Titing at coach Allen]. May onting gigil and sana talaga makuha namin yung next game para ma-push namin sa Game 3,” Gojo Cruz shared.
“Ako personally, may onting gigil kasi yung sa bungguan nga namin ni Roque. Napagalitan ako ni coach. Siguro, dagdag motivation ‘yon sa akin para bumawi next game.”
