This appears on rappler.com
The Faith
Game
(or UE rallies from an 11-point deficit to pip UST)
words, pic and videos by rick olivares
Some things have to be taken on faith.
UST’s Kevin Ferrer hit a dagger of a
three right before the end of the third period buzzer to give the Growling
Tigers a 58-47 lead.
The UE Red Warriors struggled for much
of the game. They looked mighty good when Ralf Olivares waxed hot towards the
end of the first period all the way to the early second when he scored 10
consecutive points. But UST quickly doused that fire.
UST played with more intensity and hit
some pretty big shots while UE’s shot themselves in the foot with their
questionable selection and a bunch of really bad turnovers.
The final 10 minutes didn’t get off to
a good start for UE as Roi Sumang was whistled for a foul on Clark Bautista.
Roi shook his head as he looked at the ref who made the call.
As UST inbounded the ball once more to
Bautista who drove hard, UE center Charles Mammie blocked his shot. Adrian
Santos corralled the loose ball and pitched it forward to Sumang who was
already streaking home. Paolo Pe tried to block Sumang but he fouled him in the
process for an and-one. Fortunately for UST, Sumang missed the free throw,
58-49.
In the Tigers’ next possession, Sumang
pilfered Bautista’s pockets and he hightailed it down for another bucket;
58-51, still UST.
Ed Daquioag tried to knock down a
dagger but his three-ball missed. UE had two chances to cut the lead down
further but Olivares and Mammie missed to undergoal stabs.
UST missed another shot. Ferrer pushed
Mammie off for a foul and UE had the ball back.
Sumang had the ball outside the
three-point arc with Karim Abdul on him. Abdul’s challenge forced Sumang to
miss but UE pulled down an offensive board. The ball was worked back to Sumang
who drove this time around. He drew Abdul to the right then he dropped the ball
to an unguarded Santos who had an uncontested layup.
UE tried this play on three previous
occasions but each time they were called for a three-second lane violation.
When they needed it the most, they executed it well; 58-53.
Sumang scored on UE’s next offensive
to bring the lead down to three, 58-55. He had scored six of the last eight UE
points in an 8-0 run.
UST’s misery continued when they were
slapped with a 24-second shot clock violation. Drawing the defense, Sumang
found Mammie who scored and was fouled. But the Sierra Leone native was unable
to make good on his bonus shot for the tie.
Bautista missed a three but Abdul
grabbed the offensive board. He missed the shot.
UE flubbed it’s next set as UST got a
reprieve.
The ball was given to Karim Abdul who
was playing high. As UST’s Cameroonian center drove, Mammie poked the ball away
to Gino Jumao-as. Sumang read the defensive stop well and already was down
court even as Jumao-as snagged the ball. The former San Sebastian Staglet
passed it to his teammate for a one-point lead, 59-58.
Daquioag scored from underneath for
UST’s first points of the fourth period. Five minutes and five seconds had
elapsed since their last bucket.
Jumao-as traveled and Ferrer hit a
trifecta for a 63-59 lead. The Tigers looked like they got their second wind as
Abdul blocked Santos. Bautista was fouled on his layup attempt by Jumao-as. The
fifth year Tiger made good on his two free throws for a six-point lead, 65-59.
It looked like UE’s late rally had run
out of steam but Lord Casajeros who had not played well up to that point hit a
triple and scored on a lay-up. Suddenly, UST was on their heels again, 65-64.
A JM Noble foul put Abdul on the
15-foot line but he was up to the task. Three-point lead restored, 67-64, with
2:54 to play. But the Tigers would not score again as they missed shot after
shot.
Abdul missed a wide open jumper that
Mammie tracked down for the board (he had gone out to defend the shot).
Olivares airballed a triple from the left corner and Daquioag reprised the miss
from the opposite side.
Sumang shockingly took an ill-advised
shot that Ferrer rebounded. Bautista also missed three but Ferrer was able to
get the offensive rebound. Daquioag drove the left baseline but his twisting
lay-up was woefully short as it barely grazed the rim.
Casajeros tapped the ball to Jumao-as
who once more found Sumang on a forward pass. The lay-up was good and UE was a
point behind, 67-66.
UST head coach Pido Jarencio called
for time to make sure that his charges executed the final 20 seconds well.
The three game officials went over to
Deputy Commissioner Ato Badolato who reminded them to watch out for the fouls
since UE could possibly foul if UST successfully inbounded the ball.
Over at the UE bench, Red Warriors
head coach Boycie Zamar asked his players if they believed they could pull this
win off. To his surprise, no one answered. “You need to believe that you can
win,” he reminded them. Going back to his instructions, he had Mammie try and
force a five-second inbound violation.
The result was just as good. Mammie
forced Daquioag to make a dangerous high crosscourt pass to Kevin Ferrer who
straddled the sidelines in front of the UST bench. Ferrer snagged the ball but
landed right on the sideline. The officials caught the violation and whistled
UST for the turnover.
With 18.4 seconds left, Casajeros
inbounded the ball to Sumang who had Daquioag all over him. In situations like
this, UE in the past has two options – one, Sumang will take a long
three-pointer, and two, he’ll drive. If he can make the shot, he’ll go all the
way. If there’s opposition, he’ll kick it out to a teammate. As soon as Sumang
got the ball, Mammie clear out opening up the left side.
Sumang faked a drive then made good on
it three seconds later. Kevin Ferrer, who was watching Casajeros who slid over
to the left corner pocket in case of a kick out, offered token defense on the
drive. Sumang left Daquioag behind and laid the ball in under the arms of
Abdul.
UE had the lead and the chance to win
the game.
With no more timeouts left, UST passed
the ball to Daquioag who drove to his side of the court. He was fouled by
Sumang for the reset. UST asked for an unsportsmanlike foul as they believed
that the UE guard did not go after the ball but the player. But the officials
didn’t see it that way.
With six seconds left, Ferrer
inbounded the ball to Bautista on the right side. The shooting guard drove the
baseline drawing two defenders including Mammie who left Abdul. Bautista had
the right idea as he shoveled a pass to Abdul. Unfortunately, It was off-mark.
There was a brief struggle for the ball but Ferrer came away with it. He
launched a desperation shot from a close range but it was short. Time elapsed
giving UE an incredible, 68-67 win and their fourth straight.
The Red Warriors’ last loss was
against UST where the Tigers’ posted an 11-point winning margin. With an
11-point deficit staring at them to start the fourth period, UE found its verve
for a comeback win even when they were not playing well. The victory allowed UE
to break the 4-3 record with UST to join NU at second place with a 5-3 record.
The Tigers in the meantime lost their
second consecutive match to fall to an even 4-4.
Inside the UE dugout, Zamar put the
win in terms for his team to understand. “Naniniwala
ba kayo na kaya natin manalo,” he recounted of what happened during that last
timeout. Just as it was during the game, it was to a room that was all ears. “Walang sumagot. You doubted again
yourselves. Never doubt yourselves. Nakita niyo nag-inbound maliit. Nandoon si
Charles nag cross-pass and we had a chance. Nakuha natin at na-shoot natin.
Ayan, nanalo.”
You’re down by 11. You’re not playing
well. Your star player in winded. The offense is sputtering. Yet you have a
chance to win.
Some things just have to be taken on
faith.
UE 68 - Sumang 20, Olivares 15, Mammie 10, Santos 6, Noble 5, Casajeros 5, Galanza 3, Sumido 2, Javier 2, Olayon 0, Pujante 0, Jumao-as 0, Hernandez 0, Guion 0.
UST 67 - Abdul 23, Bautista 13, Ferrer 12, Daquioag 12, Mariano 4, Hainga 2, Lo 1, Sheriff 0, Pe 0, Faundo 0.
For the first three periods, I did not
jot down any notes. I half watched the game and half chatted with Kenneth Ti
about different stuff.
Yet with that 11-point lead to end of
the third, I flipped my notebook open and began to jot down notes. I told Ken
(I sat near the technical committee) that I smelled a comeback in favor of UE.
But they are not playing well, Ken said. They were being beaten in almost every
statistical category.
I have to admit there’s no basis for
that save for gut feel. I felt that they had a chance because their head coach
would able to work his mojo on his team for a fourth quarter stand. Besides, I
had seen this before (during the summer).
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