As time wound down to the final two minutes, the De La Salle University Green Archers seemed poised to take down the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
Aljun Melecio hit a booming triple, followed by a split from Justine Baltazar from the line. The Green Archers were still staring at a four-point advantage, 71-67.
A crazy string of possessions then transpired.
Kobe Paras drew a foul and converted the free throws. Jamie Malonzo got the same chance, but failed to deliver on his two tries.
The Green Archers then forced two consecutive stops on the Fighting Maroons’ end. Unfortunately, Melecio threw a dangerous cross-court pass to Kurt Lojera, which UP’s Juan Gomez de Liaño intercepted.
After struggling on offense this first round, Gomez de Liaño drained a clutch triple with 7.8 left to pile on La Salle’s woes. It ended up the game-winner that crushed La Salle’s heart.
“Actually, yung last possession, parang naisip ko yung shot clock eh. Nalunod din kasi ako sa backcourt, so naisip ako i-long pass kay Kurt and ayun, na-intercept ni Juan.”
However, the pint-sized guard — who finished the game with 16 points and two assists — refused to dwell on his late-game fumble. Instead, he chose to stick to the positives and use this experience as a learning curve for the Green Archers’ following outings.
“Pero ayun nga, sabi ni coach kailangan naming pagdaanan ‘to — yung mga mali namin. And hopefully makatulong sa’min ‘to all throughout the season,” the fourth-year guard said.
“Of course, gusto naman talaga naming manalo every game. And yun lang, yung mga lapses nga lang, kailangan din naming pagdaanan ‘to para ma-experience namin for the coming round two and next game.”
With this experience in hand, Melecio vows to be smarter the next time around and be the leader that La Salle needs.
