EVAN Nelle was lost for words after La Salle bungled a golden chance to advance to the UAAP Season 84 Finals and saw its season end on a heartbreaking note.
"Like Deschon [Winston] said, we had it," said the 5-foot-10 guard as he struggled to hide his frustrations and pain on the heels of the Green Archers' 78-74 defeat to the University of the Philippines Maroons on Friday.
"We fell short. We couldn't convert, we couldn't get stops, we fu... up."
[See UP reaches UAAP Finals after great comeback vs La Salle]
Nelle actually had a chance to tie the game down the stretch, crossing Carl Tamayo for a drive. But he saw his floater painfully rim out, giving Tamayo the chance to ice the game on two cold-blooded free throws.
That final turn capped a monumental collapse by the Green Archers, who looked poised to cruise to the win after Justine Baltazar put his team up by 14, 70-56, with 7:04 left left on the clock.
"We're so sorry we fell short," said an apologetic Nelle, who ended his first season in Taft with just six points on a measly 2-of-12 clip from the field.
To him, it's also emblematic of the struggle that La Salle had all season long with the team's defense getting the team through but failing to get the necessary baskets on offense when the Green Archers needed it the most.
"Not enough," he lamented. "The season, it was rocky. We were good on defense but offense, we were never consistent. That's why we had a lot of close games."
This UP game was no different, and it's one that Nelle would hope La Salle would learn a lot from heading to UAAP Season 85.
"We know we had them and we should've won this game," said the former San Beda star. "So much to learn talaga."
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.
