ARELLANO had a stellar showing for most of their NCAA Season 102 campaign so far, but the Chiefs are finding out first hand just how tough it is to win on a consistent basis after collapsing at the hands of Jose Rizal University.
With the Heavy Bombers breathing down their necks, Arellano’s six-point lead shriveled in the closing minutes before a crucial turnover and foul from AG Borromeo doomed them to a 64-62 defeat.
READ: Mangubat finds touch just in time in JRU's comeback win over AU
But even with the costly errors and Ongotan being the lone bright spot at 23 points and nine rebounds, the dynamic guard still commended his peers for what was a close match that went down the wire.
“Ayun nga, na-comeback pa nga,” Ongotan told SPIN.ph.
“Actually, nag-show up naman. Lahat naman talaga nagtrabaho. Binigay naman lahat ng best talaga. Sobrang late na pagkakamali lang talaga. Sabi ni coach na huwag kami magkamali sa crucial game," he continued.
“Pero yan nga, alam ko naman na hindi naman magtatapos yung game namin ngayon. Bukas, back to training kami. Ayusin namin yung mga mali namin na gawa kami.”
No room for errors now
With the Chiefs still having no victories to show in the crossover round, Ongotan and crew are quickly realizing that any team can get the jump on them on any given day which may cause them to lose their top-seeded record.
And as the Arellano’s top dog, he knows that rallying the squad has to come from him as well.
“Hindi talaga basta-basta ibibigay sa amin. Hangga’t merong oras talaga, huwag kami mag-relax kasi nga, yun nga. Mga kalaban talaga namin hindi talaga bumibigay," he urged.
Arellano looked more than ready to change their outcome this time around, as they have already shown after emerging as the undisputed heavyweights of Group B.
But if they want to avoid the repeated fate, Chico Manabat’s ‘heroes’ need to harness more composure, Ongotan included.
“Siguro, maging matured na lang kami. Maging maingat kami sa lahat sa mga ganung crucial game. Lahat ng games talaga namin, walang tambakan lahat, talaga dikitan tayo," he said.
“Kaya kailangan talaga pag sa mga crucial game, maging attentive talaga kami lahat,“ he added.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
