Trevis Jackson refuses to hang his head after missing the potential game-winner in the Meralco Bolts’ 91-94 overtime loss to the Blackwater Elite in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup opener, Sunday evening.
Surprisingly, the team entrusted the ball to the Fil-Am rookie with 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Jackson had plenty of space for a jumper after he fended off Mike DiGregorio through a stepback, but his shot at the buzzer missed.
“Of course, I want to make that shot and I envision that shot going in next time. I’m not going to be too down about it. Move on to the next play like I tell the team. Whenever anyone does bad, I tell them to keep their head up,” he said.
“I’m not going to dwell on it. I’m just going to get back in the gym and work on it again.”
Jackson is intent on working harder at his shot, particularly now that Meralco head coach Normal Black has seemingly found someone he can trust in the endgame. The product of Sacramento State also said that to be given the game-winning opportunity for the Orangemen means a lot.
“I just got to stay confident in my shot. That’s something I’ve been doing my whole life. The fact that coach Norman trusted me with to take that shot and drew up the play for me to take that shot, it means a lot to me,” he said.
“It’s up to me to live up to his belief in me.”
Aside from that missed game-winner, Jackson said that he won’t dwell on the defeat. He believes that they can play better than they did in their conference opener, and they have a chance to prove so against Columbian Dyip on Friday.
“Only up from here. I’m not going to dwell on anything. I will come into practice and remind everyone, ‘Hey, that’s one game.’ We know we can play better that. I know I personally can play better than that,” the 23-year-old guard said.
“And I know we expect more from ourselves. We know we can do better.”
