IF there's one player who wanted to win more than anyone else during Tuesday's PBA D-League Foundation Cup semifinals between Phoenix and Racal, it was Mike Tolomia.
His desire showed beyond his impressive stat line as Phoenix coach Eric Gonzales bared how Tolomia refused to be subbed in the dying minutes where the spitfire guard out of Far Eastern University eventually got the job done for the Accelerators.
Phoenix dethroned Cafe France, 89-78, and returned to the finals of the tournament, thanks in large part to Tolomia's 31-point effort.
Tolomia even stood out the most when the going got tough, as he dropped eight of his total output in the final quarter and scored four of the team's last six points inside the final three minutes.
"Ayaw niya magpa-sub. Winner's attitude pinakita niya," said Gonzales of Tolomia, who saw action for 31 minutes.
For his part, Tolomia said he just didn't want a repeat of his team's loss in their first game against Cafe France, where they blew a twice-to-beat advantage.
"Ayoko na maulit yung nangyari nung last game e," he said. "Sabi ko lang sa mga coaches na pagdating sa second half, diinan na namin."
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