For most basketball players, missing out on a spot in the Elite Team of the UAAP Season 88 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament would sting long after the announcement.
For Mot Matias, it still does — just not in the way many would expect a 17-year-old point guard to react after such a setback.
The son of former PBA pro Ronnie Matias averaged 7.31 points, 7.46 assists, 3.54 rebounds, and 2.85 steals in the elimination round, finishing fourth in the MVP race with 70.923 statistical points.
Yet, he was left out of the Elite Team after incurring two unsportsmanlike fouls — a rule that led to his one-game suspension during National University Nazareth School’s second-round meeting against the University of the East and ultimately cost him a spot on the roster.
Instead of dwelling on what could have been, Matias is channeling his disappointment into something far more valuable than an individual accolade: motivation for another championship run with the Bullpups.
“Siguro, ginawa at gagawin ko lang ‘yon na motivation dahil ‘yon nga, nawala ako sa Elite Team dahil gawa ko rin naman ‘yon,” Matias shared last Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
The 5-foot-10 point guard demonstrated that maturity when NUNS secured its third straight UAAP boys’ basketball Finals appearance with a 75-70 win over fourth-seeded De La Salle Zobel.
Holding a 64-57 lead with 7:25 remaining, the Junior Archers mounted a late rally as an eight-point spurt by Mark Borrero and a Maco Dabao layup brought the Bullpups down a slim 67-66 hole with 3:22 left to play.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Matias, however, kept his composure, fueling NUNS’ game-sealing 9-2 run — capped by his clutch free throws and those of Malian center Moussa Diakite — to secure the program’s return to the Finals for the 12th time in 13 seasons.
For the Sampaloc, Manila guard — who finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals against DLSZ — controlling his emotions in a best-of-three Finals clash against second-ranked Far Eastern University-Diliman will be crucial to delivering head coach Kevin de Castro a long-awaited UAAP boys’ basketball championship.
“Ito yung mini reward para sa amin lahat, pero hindi pa tapos. Kukunin namin yung gold para kay Coach Kevin, Sir Fulton [Sy], at sa buong NUNS,” Matias said.
“Siguro masasabi ko lang sa sarili ko na no frustration lang against FEU-D dapat.”
Looking ahead to Game 1 of the Finals against the Baby Tamaraws this Sunday, March 22, at the Blue Eagle Gym, Matias highlighted two key areas NUNS must focus on to capture the program’s first UAAP boys’ basketball title since Season 82 (2019).
He stressed the importance of avoiding a slow start against a formidable FEU-D roster featuring presumptive MVP Cabs Cabonilas, Marc Burgos, and JB Cagurungan, while also matching the Baby Tamaraws’ physicality.
“Sana hindi ganito yung start namin kasi malakas nga yung FEU-D. Baka pag ganoon yung start namin, baka tambakan kami at mahirapan kami. And ‘yon nga, yung DLSZ, pinisikal kami,” he said.
“So kailangan naming ma-overcome ‘yon kasi ang FEU-D ay talagang physical team din.”
