Trailing most of the game, GenSan-Burlington needed somebody to step up and lead the comeback rally, and veteran Robby Celiz gladly answered the call.
Celiz sparked a telling 9-0 blast in the fourth period, scoring six of those, to turn a 63-65 deficit to a 72-65 cushion with just 50.5 seconds remaining in the game.
“Nag adjust kami sa depensa, nai-stop namin yung transition offense ng Pasay and then aggressive lang ako sa opensa, laging go hard to the basket lang talaga everytime, huwag mag-settle sa jump shots,” the forward out of National University said on his mindset during the fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-3 forward ended up with 17 points, none most important than his last six, 11 rebounds, five assists, a block in more than 30 minutes of game time.
The victory allowed the Burlington-backed GenSan to move from fifth spot to third place, leapfrogging Basilan and Zamboanga behind a 16-8 win-loss record.
Gensan assistant coach Ramon Pido always looked at Celiz as someone who could be the rock of the team during hard times on the court and the latter just proved it again.
“Lagi kaming tiwala kay Robby kasi he is a veteran. He knows his role sa team and he can be the leader inside the basketball court at yun ang pinakaimportante, yung mahawa sa kanya yung mga kasama niya sa loob,” said Pido, who did the coaching chores as head coach Rich Alvarez was still out of the country.
Celiz does not look at the numbers, all he wants to do is be a good veteran presence for the team inside the court.
“Isa ako sa mga beterano dito sa GenSan kaya every game, kailangan maging good example ako, maging vocal, maging leader especially down the stretch sa fourth quarter.”
In other games, Bacoor City stretched its streak to five games after dismantling Marikina, 100-88, while Cebu-Casino Ethyl Alcohol pumped life to its playoff hopes after a wire-to-wire 95-89 victory against Quezon City-WEMSAP.
Story by Justin Valencia
Photo by Nicks Hernandez
