BEING friends with your rivals sure has its pros and cons.
But the University of the Philippines wing Harold Alarcon made sure to use the perks of it to his advantage in guarding his longtime pal and ‘gaw’ Steve Nash Enriquez of National U on Saturday.
It was Alarcon’s Fighting Maroons that went on a 31-6 tear to upend Enriquez and the rest of the erstwhile unbeaten Bulldogs, 66-59, to make it back-to-back wins after an early 0-2 hole in UAAP Season 88.
READ: UP finally solves QPav riddle to strike NU down for first time in UAAP Season 88
The 23-year-old State U playmaker might not have racked up blockbuster numbers after scoring just eight points in 20 minutes, but he made every second of it count.
"I just wanna commend Harold. Every time he had the ball, whether he's making a shot or creating plays, he was big-time," said assistant coach Christian Luanzon.
Alarcon also made sure to stick to Enriquez in the second half, when the latter was stymied to seven points in 3-of-10 shooting from the field.
“For him to fight through ‘yung kanyang nararamdaman, that was big for us,” added Luanzon.
Albeit under the weather, Alarcon made sure to heed UP’s call to avoid falling deeper into what would’ve been a dismal 1-3 standing in its title defense.
And that’s where he used their friendship card to his favor.
“Kanina, nag-iinit si Nash sa game. May instruction kanina (si coach Goldwin Monteverde) na dapat ko siyang tapatin kasi nag-iinit nga siya,” Alarcon told SPIN.ph.
“Kahit naman na magtropa kami, nakikita ko rin siya maglaro eh at namamarkahan ko kung saang part ng laro niya ko siya pwedeng depensahan.”
Harold's health
Truth be told, the demand of defending their throne in each game that passes has taken a toll on Alarcon in terms of physical health.
In fact, he had less than a day’s worth of training to prepare for NU — one that played part in his limited minutes in the ball game.
“Actually, kahapon nga lang ako nakapag-ensayo ulit para dito sa NU. Pangalawang araw ko pa lang ‘to ngayon na nakabalik sa basketball court,” Alarcon shared.
“Naitawid din naman kaya thankful talaga ako kay God na sinamahan niya 'ko sa challenge na ‘to.”
Midway through Round 1 and with a whole lot of basketball still to play this season, Alarcon’s greatest foe yet isn’t even a particular player or a team. It’s only himself.
As he put it, “Mental na lang talaga ‘yung kalaban ko ngayon.”
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.
