As one of his closest friends, Romeo Travis made it a point to watch LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Atlanta Hawks, Monday morning (Manila time).
So he saw how James – his teammate in the famed St. Vincent-St. Mary High – missed both of his freebies in the dying seconds, but made up for it big time with a putback dunk off a Kyle Kuzma miss to lead the Lakers to a 107-106 win.
Little did he know he’ll be doing the same – sort of – several hours later.
Travis had a chance to put away the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for good in Game Two of their 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals, as he was sent to the line with 4.5 seconds left to play, but just like James, he muffed both of them.
Luckily for Travis, he was able to haul down the miss. The Gin Kings fouled him and sent him to the line again, and this time there were no wasted chances as he split his free throws to send his Magnolia Hotshots to a 101-97 victory.
“I actually watched the game. I may have jinxed myself. He had a second chance, I had a second chance. He made the most of it and I made the second free throw and we ended up winning the game,” Travis said with a chuckle.
“I thank God for second chances.”
With Monday’s victory, the Hotshots have now moved just one win away from dethroning the two-time champions and booking a spot in the conference finals. So for Travis, finishing the series on Wednesday is now their main goal.
“It’s with utmost importance [to win Game Three]. That team is amazing, that’s a great team, perennial champions. You don’t wanna keep playing them. You don’t wanna keep giving them opportunities,” he said.
“This is the most important game of the year for us. That’s just what we wanna do, you don’t wanna give this team chances.”
