Isaac Go bled Blue and White
The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles and defending UAAP Men’s Basketball champions Far Eastern University Tamaraws figured in another close game Wednesday evening, their second meeting in five days. It was either do or die for both squads this time around.
With three minutes and 40 seconds left in overtime, both teams were still tied at 66-all. A miss by Raymar Jose in that time had resulted in a rebounding battle between FEU’s Prince Orizu and Ateneo’s Isaac Go, two hulking student-athletes who stand at least 6-foot-8. However, Orizu accidentally elbowed Go, inadvertently gashing the bridge of the latter’s nose.
“I think what happened was, it seemed more painful because I already dove for the ball, it was a loose ball,” the 20-year-old reflected.
The former Xavier Golden Stallion laid on the hard court for a good minute as blood leaked from the wound. But according to him, it had been the sight of him bleeding, and not the pain, that caused him to panic.
“I think I just overreacted to the blood coming out.”
But Go was only benched for a good 32 seconds, returning to the game as soon as he could. And when it mattered, he still delivered. With Ateneo down 67-68 with 1:24 left, the 6-foot-8 big man cleaned up a miss by Matt Nieto giving the Blue Eagles the lead. The shot turned out to be the game-winner that sent the cagers from Loyola Heights back to the finals.
“I went over to him, I said is it broken?
“The doctor said it’s not broken, I said get back out there. He said let me get the bleeding stopped and I’ll be right there. That’s all,” first-year Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin shared about the moment Go was on the bench.
“We needed to stay in the game. At that point in the game, it was winning time. There’s no point in getting out of the game. Injury, you have to stay,” added Go, who finished the game with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks.
But even if he was not cleared to play, it’s safe to say that the second-year Blue Eagle would have forced the team’s doctors to bring him back in — knowing that the difference will be either a three day break or a year-long rest.
“When the game’s on the line, you just have to play,” Go declared.
