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    Coach admits part of Davao Occidental goal was to avenge title defeat to San Juan

    Coach admits part of Davao Occidental goal was to avenge title defeat to San Juan
    Mar 24, 2021
    Davao Occidental Tigers Don Dulay victory
    PHOTO: MPBL Facebook page

    DAVAO Occidental coach Don Dulay said the Tigers wanted the MPBL Lakan Season title so bad following that heartbreaking finals loss to San Juan two years ago.

    Dulay admitted the pain lingered for the ballclub after Davao Occidental suffered a stinging 87-86 loss to San Juan in Game Five of the 2019 Datu Cup finals after the Tigers squandered a seven-point lead with two minutes left in the contest held at the Rizal Memorial Colleges Gym in Davao City.

    Tears of joy fell from the eyes of Davao Occidental players after the Tigers avenged that setback when they beat the Knights, 89-88, in overtime on Sunday thanks to the heroics of Mark Yee after hitting a crucial triple in the final seconds of the match.

    “I got the chills thinking about it right now,” said Dulay in an upcoming episode of SPIN Sidelines. “Just all the joy and the faces of my players. Blood, tears, and sweat. It’s been a long two years but we wanted it so bad.”

    “We wanted it so bad. We wanted it so bad for our families. Everybody, like you see the faces of Emman (Calo), (Joseph) Terso, Mark (Yee), all the emotions [and] build-up from that last series. We wanted payback,” Dulay said.

    Dulay said Davao Occidental was indeed fired up for the series especially when it was San Juan which they were facing.

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    The Tigers coach recalled the moments after San Juan stole Game Five on their home court.

    “We were up seven with less than two minutes. Anyone who follows basketball (knows), you’re supposed to close it out. When the final buzzer went out, I was still in shock. Our team owner was. All the fans were.

    “The thing that hurt was that it was in the Davao homecourt and to see the San Juan team celebrating in a game that we should have won. It was hard. It was hard to talk to the guys, not only the players but the families of the players. You can only imagine what the players were going through. I know that the players got a lot of like backlash because there was a lot of emotion on the court. It was hard for us as an organization,” said Dulay.

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    But Dulay was grateful for the trust given by management to him and to the team, retooling for another bid to make it back to the finals. The 40-year-old Dulay, however, said Davao made sure not to get ahead of themselves when the Lakan Season came.

    “We were taking it one game at a time. A lot of the teams beefed up. They got a lot better. We can’t say automatically that we will be in the finals. But we had veterans like Mark Yee, Bonbon (Custodio), they had good attitudes especially after that Game Five in Davao when we lost. They know we did a good job. We just have to stay in it, stay focused, and revamp. The management trusted us. We got some key pieces and we were able to compete again,” Dulay said.

    When the rematch was set, Dulay admitted part of the goal was to avenge the defeat, which is why the title victory was so sweet.

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    “It’s easy to say that wasn’t our focus. But as a competitor, we wanted that rematch. The way we lost, it hurt. When that final buzzer went off, all that pressure, all that emotions on your shoulder just came out and it showed in the players,” said Dulay.

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