Prince Orizu had extra motivation entering the Far Eastern University Tamaraws’ game against the University of the Philippine Fighting Maroons on Sunday afternoon. And it’s not just because his career-game went for naught 11 days ago, when they took on the UST Growling Tigers.
Last September 12, the 6-foot-10 big man tallied a career-high 25 points on an excellent 11-for-13 clip to go along with 15 rebounds – all for nothing, as FEU suffered a 74-76 loss to fall to 1-1.
“We came short in UST because we didn’t do very well on defense. So I talked to my teammates and my coaches about how we can come back stronger. We need to remember how we played defense against La Salle,” shared the graduating Tamaraw.
But more than that, the Nigerian student-athlete also had bragging rights at stake against UP. He was facing good pal and UP big man Bright Akhuetie.
Orizu continued his stellar start to the season, finishing with 15 points on a perfect 7-for-7 clip and seven rebounds. Moreover, he locked down Akhuetie to just 4-for-11 shooting – holding him to just two points in the first 20 minutes of the game.
“Bright is like one of my best friends. We push each other to do our best because he’s a really good player,” confessed the 24-year-old Orizu after FEU’s 89-73 win.
“I just needed to stand my ground because I did not want to be the friend who loses.”
As an added bonus, he was also praised by his teammates and coaches as they got back to the locker room, as he has been very efficient from the field.
“I did not know that actually. I only knew about it when my teammates told me about it,” said Orizu.
“We were focused on our defense and executing our offense so the shorts just sort of came for me.”
Orizu won’t need added motivation the rest of the way. As he is in his final year, he wants to bring the UAAP crown back to FEU. And that’s enough motivation for him.
