The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles have the second twice-to-beat incentive within their grasps.
After falling to neighbors University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, the cagers from Loyola are riding a five-game winning streak heading into their final assignment of the UAAP Season 79 Men’s Basketball tournament’s elimination round.
One of the key cogs in the Blue Eagles’ late-season surge is third-year center Isaac Go. The 6-foot-7 stretch big man started the week with a 14-point, seven-rebound outing against the defending champion Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
During the pivotal game that helped separate them from FEU in the standings, he scored seven points in the final frame that quelled any comeback attempt.
Gaining confidence, he was able to notch his career-high against season hosts University of Santo Tomas. The 20-year-old center dropped a game-high 15 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting to send the Growling Tigers packing with a 74-64 win.
His string of stellar performances landed him the ACCEL Quantum/3XVI-UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week for November 7 to 13, the second straight time an Ateneo player has won the weekly plum after Aaron Black.
For Go, he is just paying back the confidence given to him by his coaches and teammates.
“It’s the confidence that my coaches and my teammates give me that is important. When they put me in, they tell me that I can do something. They know that I’ll make the right play,” the Xavier School product said.
“It’s a huge confidence booster for my part and it gives me motivation to go out there,” he added.
And Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin is not surprised with the number of players stepping up for his team.
“Our team is full of good players. They’ve developed through the course of the season,” the American-Kiwi mentor said.
“They’ve developed confidence in one another and we try to take what the defense gives us. That explains why different players are probably featured in different games.”
He bested the following student-athletes for the weekly award given by scribes covering the country’s premier collegiate league from top broadsheets, national dailies, and online portals.
Jonathan Espeleta (Adamson Soaring Falcons)
Jeron Teng (DLSU Green Archers)
Kib Montalbo (DLSU Green Archers)
Philip Manalang (UE Red Warriors)
