Ronald Tubid trusts his shot so much that he knew his two-pointer from the corner would go in and lift Terrafirma past Purefoods in their crucial PBA 3×3 Second Conference Leg 4 duel, Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The game was tied at 20-all with 18.4 seconds left, and the 40-year-old didn’t hesitate to go for the win the moment he caught Dhon Reverente’s kick-out. He pulled the trigger confidently despite the closeout of Joseph Eriobu.
Unfortunately, his shot rattled in and out. The Tender Juicy Titans capitalized, and Eriobu swished a half-spin jumper against, coincidentally, Tubid, to collect the 21-20 victory — and head into the playoff for the last quarterfinal spot.
Making the defeat all the more frustrating was that the Dyip got booted out of contention. Had his deuce gone in and they won with 22 points, they would have emerged as the top seed of Pool C due to the quotient system.
The team would’ve had 57 points in total. Other 2-1 teams Barangay Ginebra and eventual leg champions Meralco only had 56 and 53 points, respectively.
“Well, siguro, hindi para sa’min. Kasi kung sa’min ‘yun, shoot ‘yun. Pero for me, nung binitawan ko, alam ko shoot na e,” lamented Tubid, who scored seven in the loss.
“Then it just happened na ano. So siguro, hindi para sa’min.”
Overall, it was still quite a ride for Tubid, who returned to action after two years to make sure that Terrafirma will compete with a complete team.
“Nakakapagod pero enjoy, kasi nakapaglaro ulit,” he beamed.
“First game ko yesterday, para akong rookie e. Excited, tsaka kabado. Kasi baka mamaya, inactivate ako tapos wala ako magawa. Mixed emotions.”
The nine-time PBA champ shared that they actually tried to look for others that could fill in for the injured Jebb Bulawan, but time constraints plus the difficulty of finding available players led to his decision to suit up instead.
Photo by PBA Images
“Kasi, mabilisan e. That’s why mabilisan din ako in-activate. Kasi mahirap maghanap ng player ngayon, ‘yung ibang liga nag-start,” Tubid explained. “Naghanap kami ng players, parang wala masyado available.
“Ang hirap maghanap. Tapos, you’re gonna sign them for, like, a month or two. Sabi ko, ‘Ako na lang kaya’? Sabi nung assistant coach, ‘Coach Ron, pwede ka naman e.’ Pang-itong leg lang, or next kung ‘di pa okay. Tinry.”
Shape isn’t really an issue for the 19-year pro since he’s been joining team workouts — even with Terrafirma’s 5-on-5 team. But he did admit that he was caught off-guard a bit with the pace of the halfcourt competitions.
“Even sa 5-on-5 nakikisabay ako, so parang ‘di pa rin nawawala. Pero ‘yun nga lang, ‘yung timing siguro, ‘yung sa real game,” said Tubid, who’s also the Dyip’s team manager. “‘Yun ‘yung medyo hindi naka-adjust ng konti.”
By seeing action in the new league, Tubid has become the latest 5-on-5 veteran to take their act in the emerging discipline like CAVITEX’s Larry Fonacier, someone he had fought in countless battles with in the past.
“Actually, si Larry nagsabi sa’kin, ‘Laro ka na, pwede ka pa.’” the UE Red Warriors shared with a chuckle. “It just happened nga na kulang ng player. So tinry ko lang naman.
“Nafeel ko,’yung laro ulit sa Araneta. Iba e.”
Will the evergreen cagers cross paths again soon? Well, that will all depend on how Bulawan recovers from his foot injury, according to Tubid.
“Pag papalarin ako makapaglaro next leg. Kasi baka mag-okay na ‘yung player namin e, or makahanap kami ng ibang player. We’ll see,” he said.
