ENZO Joson knew he had to make up for his consecutive mistakes in the final minute of regulation.
"I wanted to prove myself din after those two mistakes," he said.
With NU leading, 68-63 with 42.3 seconds, the UST defense kicked in and forced Joson to commit a five-second inbound violation and an eight-second backcourt violation in consecutive possessions.
Both were costly for the Bulldogs as the Growling Tigers rallied, tying the game at 68 with a Zachy Huang split in the final 17.9 seconds.
That's why Joson knew that he had no other option but to atone for those miscues.
"I asked na akin yung bola nung huli. Kami actually ni Dave Ildefonso, we were saying na amin yung bola. Pero I told Shaun (Ildefonso) na ibigay niya sa akin kasi yun nga, I think I could have done a better job after nung two turnovers ko," the second-year playmaker said.
He did live up to his words, scoring the go-ahead lay-up with 6.5 seconds to spare to put NU up, 70-68.
That, however, was shortlived as Soulemane Chabi Yo responded on the other end, forcing overtime with a tough basket in the last 2.1 ticks of regulation.
Unfortunately, it proved to be the Bulldogs' last hurrah as they suffered a meltdown in the extra five minutes on the way o the Growling Tigers taking an 87-74 conquest.
As painful as the loss was for NU, Joson said that his side has no other option but to stay positive despite remaining as the lone winless team this UAAP Season 82.
"We can’t bring ourselves down pa," said the 5-foot-11 guard, who finished with 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists. "Our mindset is bawi lang talaga kasi we’ve been through three games na ganyan ang talo namin. If we push ourselves down, wala talagang mangyayari. Positive mindset lang."
Joson also thinks that the world will soon balance things out and give the Bulldogs the break they badly need after being on the short end of the stick for three consecutive games.
"Hindi na namin pwedeng isipin yung negative side eh, so we’re on the positive side thinking na our time will come din. Syempre, ang malas eh. Tatlong ganoon, ang sama eh, so we’re just thinking of the brighter side na lang," he said.
And that's why the chase continues for NU as it seeks to end this tough streak on Wednesday against University of the Philippines.
"I think this is the time that we need to stick together kasi we’ve been down na. The best thing to do is to stick together. Bawi lang kami," he said.
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