BY Andrei Barrantes
FOR the third season in a row, once-dynastic NU-Nazareth School was left frustrated at the end of the UAAP boys' basketball tournament.
In Game 3 of the Season 87 finals, the Bullpups fell short in overtime against University of Santo Tomas - this, on the heels of their Season 85 bronze medal and Season 86 runner-up finish.
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Of course, the blue-and-gold still made a game out of it, even after trailing by as much as 17 and severely struggling from the perimeter. They then staged a furious second half fightback that nonetheless, had them trailing by two, 72-74, with 5.8 ticks to go in regulation.
Off a timeout, Mac Alfanta missed his attempt, but fortunately for NUNS, Migs Palanca was at the right place at the right time for the putback that tied the tally and forced overtime.
While they ultimately ran out of gas in the extra period, the Bullpups had a bright spot in Palanca who posted 21 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks in 28 minutes of action.
“Kahit maganda naman (personal) output, 'pag ang result, talo, natatabunan yung ginawa ko kasi sasabihin nila kulang," he said.
"Fell short na naman kami, pero wala naman sa aming lose eh - win or learn lang yun.”
On to the next for Migs
With the 6-foot-7 big concluding his last season in NUNS, he looked back on his rise from being at the edge of the bench to a key contributor.
As he detailed, “Lahat, kailangan pagtrabahuan. Yung position ko ngayon, kung meron man nakakaaalam, noong first year, bangko ako, wala akong minuto. Pero ginawa ko yun as a learning experience."
"Nanonood ako sa mga huddle. Sa film, eyes on the board ako. Sa second year, medyo nag-translate ng onti, pero hindi ako consistent. Sa third year dito, nakita naman ng lahat, naka-contribute ako consistently sa team.”
And without any hesitation, Palanca expressed his desire to stay in Jhocson, where he will continue to be under the watchful eyes of big man whisperer Jeff Napa.
“Stay lang ako. Gawin ko lang yung ginawa ko sa rookie year ko sa juniors na learn, learn, learn lang,” he expressed.
While he can confidently say he climbed the ranks during his time in high school, the Agusan Del Norte native anticipates a different level of competitiveness come college, saying, “Tignan ko kung ano ang physicality nila kasi sabi nila sa college, IQ talaga eh. Kung nakikita mo talaga, yung juniors mado-dominate mo by brute force. Sa seniors, talent talaga.”
With all the challenges ahead, it seems like National U's closely-knit program won’t be a problem for him in terms of adjustment, as he has already built connections with key Bulldogs who were even in attendance in Game 3.
“Ayan sila Reinhard [Jumamoy], nakakasama ko. Sa practice kasi namin, nag-aabot kami sa college, so nakikipag-usap ako. Tapos minsan, nakakasabay ako," he said.
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