Migs Oczon made a surprise return for College of Saint Benilde in Game Two of the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Finals after initially being ruled out of it.
Oczon only played two minutes in Game One last December 4 after sustaining a severe right ankle sprain. He knocked down a three and landed on the foot of Kyle Tolentino.
But with the Blazers’ backs against the wall versus defending champion Letran, the 22-year-old guard out of National University willed his way to a comeback.
“Ninety to 95-percent ako.
“I also want to give credit to our strength and conditioning coaches who helped me recover sa injury ko,” he said.
Oczon got in just three minutes in the game and immediately made an impact.
In the first quarter alone, the 6-foot sniper fired two treys to help the Blazers keep pace with the Knights.
“Migs [Oczon] is such a big part of our team. I trust him a lot offensively, defensively – he’s a threat,” said Blazers head coach Charles Tiu.
And when the going got tough for the Blazers, it was Oczon who nailed the biggest shot.
Clinging to a 73-71 lead with 20.2 seconds left, Oczon backed down Brent Paraiso. Then he knocked down a huge turnaround jumper to extend the Finals to a deciding Game Three.
“He played big today, he played well, he made a big shot for us… and we needed him. And it’s a good win with him on the floor,” continued Tiu, as Oczon wound up with 15 points on four triples with seven rebounds.
There’s no turning back now for Oczon and the Blazers.
In the winner-take-all, all stats are thrown out the window and only the strong will survive.
With two Finals games under their belt, the multi-time UAAP High School Basketball champion knows that they should leave the past behind them in order to notch their one shining moment.
“Anything can happen for Game Three. We have to stay ready, we have to prepare well knowing that they’re the defending champions,” said Oczon.
“We played two games na sa Finals. So hopefully that’s enough championship experience.”
