Forty minutes of hard-fought basketball passed, the final buzzer rang, and the score board read:
University of Santo Tomas 88-85 University of the East
Marvin Lee, who was standing at midcourt, let out a deep sigh of relief and grabbed his teammates for a hug. The Growling Tigers had just avoided a winless season.
“Siyempre para sa akin masarap yung feeling na nanalo. Sabi nga, parang nag-champion na kami pagdating dun,” shared Lee, who tallied 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists in their last game.
After 393 days, UST finally entered the win column. The win is bitter-sweet for the Growling Tigers. Yes, they closed their campaign with a win but the sting of the 13 losses is something Lee cannot easily shake off.
“Hindi pa rin kasi ako makapaniwala na ganoon yung nangyari sa amin, nag-thirteen losses kami,” confessed UST’s team captain after he had done everything for the black-and-gold, posting norms of 12.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists this season.
“Hanggang ngayon, di ako makapaniwala sa sarili ko na yun yung nangyari sa amin.”
The 20-year-old shared that because of the disappointing turnout to their season, they weren’t in a celebratory mood after their win. As a team that had only just gotten their first taste of victory, the expectation was that it would be an upbeat post-game huddle for the first time, but Lee disclosed that it wasn’t completely the case.
“Hindi naman [light yung atmosphere sa dugout], nag sharing lang kami at nag thank you kami sa isa’t isa na nag stick together pa rin kami,” Lee shared.
Although the team entered their last match with a 0-13 record, there were more supporters of the Growling Tigers present in the SMART Araneta Coliseum compared to their past games. The cheers of “Go USTe” were louder and the yellow galleries were brighter.
This is something that Lee is very grateful for.
“Thankful pa rin ako sa mga taong nagpunta dito. Sa akin, lalo na na nung nagchi-cheer na sila, parang naboost up ako, lalo na nung lamang kami. Feeling ko may katulong ako sa likod ko, di ako papabayaan,” he said.
He admits that he may be suffering from a heartbreak from a 1-13 record, but he is just relieved that they weren’t written in the history books as the squad that went winless for a season.
“Para ito sa buong UST [community] kasi mahirap mapunta sa history na 0-14.”
Lee is still in disbelief that they ended their season with a 1-13 card. But above it all, he is thankful that it wasn’t 0-14.
