JOSEPH Eriobu felt his ill-advised three-point attempt over Arwind Santos negated what had been a breakout performance early in his PBA career on Sunday night.
Off a timeout with Mahindra down by just two, the rookie forward faked off the SMB star, but was forced to take a tough double-pump triple that missed with 24 seconds left and gave the Beermen the possession, eventually holding on to the result.
That soured an otherwise solid showing by Eriobu that saw him finish with 17 points, six boards, one assist, and one steal in 23 minutes off the bench.
“Para sa ’kin, hindi pa yun eh, kulang pa yung nagawa ko,” the 24-year-old freshman said.
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“At saka sobrang rookie mistake nung nagawa ko, kasi yung instruction sakin nung huling play is to drive,” he was quick to add of his hurried triple. “Pero feeling ko kasi, mas maganda kung jinumpshot ko eh. Kasi medyo sa totoo lang, natakot ako kay Arwind.”
But that blunder hardly dented Floodbuster coach Chris Gavina's trust in Eriobu, who had buried a triple that put them momentarily ahead a few possessions earlier.
“Ang maganda lang dun, yung trust na binigay sakin ni coach,” Eriobu said. “Sabi niya sa’kin sa locker room after the game, ine-encourage ako ng mga teammates ko, lalo na yung mga coaches ko na lesson learned daw yun.”
“Marami daw nangyayaring ganun sa mga rookies, so ite-take ko nalang yung negative na nagawa ko as a positive para sa next game, kung mangyari man uli yun, eh maganda na yung magawa ko.”
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