IT’S not every day wherein UAAP players get to play in front of their classmates and friends in their home court, which makes UST’s loss to Ateneo last Saturday a tough pill to swallow.
Playing in front of a raucous Quadricentennial Pavilion crowd, the Growling Tigers played catch up basketball all game long and their fate was sealed with a Sean Quitevis interception late as the Blue Eagles completed an upset 67-64 victory, leaving the Thomasian crowd distraught.
The players certainly felt the love from their peers on their home floor. Unfortunately, they couldn’t reward those Tomasinos with a victory.
“Nakakaboost ng confidence yung ganon, kasi homecourt eh. Madaming fans din ang UST,” Mark Llemit said, a homegrown player who played for the Tigers Cubs in high school.
“Wala naman ako masabi, masaya maglaro sa homecourt. Nai-short lang talaga kami sa last.”
Forthsky Padrigao, ironically facing his former team, marveled at the energy that the home crowd brought as he truly felt why the UST community is considered as one of the best fanbases in the UAAP.
“Grabe wala ako masabi sa UST crowd, ramdam na ramdam namin yung effort nila sa pagcheer. Talagang naririnig namin sila,” Padrigao stated.
“Ramdam namin sila but then, yun lang ‘di namin nasuklian ng panalo yung suporta nila sa’min.”
Losing Their Growl
The loss was UST’s third straight, and for the second consecutive game they failed to deliver in the clutch.
Against La Salle, the Growling Tigers also had a chance to win late only for Padrigao to split the potential go-ahead free throws to send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Growling Tigers ran out of gas.
Still, Padrigao tipped his hat to the Blue Eagles, while acknowledging the lessons and taking in the needed experience from their loss against his former team.
“Ateneo played well too, you got to credit them by how they played,” he stated.
“Yung learning na ganon talagang makukuha namin 'yon pag na-experience namin yung bagay na 'yun eh. As you said, it's two straight games pero wala paren kaming nagawa on that end of the floor.”
READ: Where has the growl gone for struggling UST?
Reflecting on the tough loss, Padrigao and Llemit are now moving forward with a semifinals return still in their hands, albeit slipping oh so slowly with each close loss.
That means they have to find their acts quickly.
“Babalik kami ensayo, aayusin namin kung san kami nagkukulang. Iiimprove din namin kung ano yung mga kulang sa team.” Llemit said.
And while they won’t be playing in front of their home court anymore, they promise to repay their fanbase’s trust by finishing strong in this tournament and completing that semifinals comeback this season.
“A loss is a loss. Ayun, watch the film. Kung ano yung pwede namin matutunan kunin namin yun and then focus lang kami sa next game. ‘Di kami pwede mag-dwell sa talo na 'to, kailangan namin mag prepare for our next game.” Padrigao said.
“Hopefully sa upcoming games namin masuklian namin yung effort na binibigay din nila sa'min.”
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