JEROM Lastimosa really thought that Lenda Douanga would give the ball back to him in the waning seconds of regulation as Adamson stared at a three-point deficit, 79-76.
"Akala ko ibabalik niya sa akin kasi pinasa ko," said the lead guard who was swarmed by the La Salle defense in that last possession.
Instead, the Congolese big man surprised everyone when he went for the game-tying shot, leading Lastimosa to sigh, "Malakas ang loob din."
Douanga swished the booming three with 6.0 seconds on the clock to tie the game at 79 and send the game to overtime, one that the Soaring Falcons were able to pull through, 86-84, on Saturday.
Even coach Nash Racela, in between smirks, joked, "Di ba yun ang game plan natin?"
But in all seriousness, the soft-spoken mentor lauded the guts of the big man to take that shot all the more with Lastimosa having a career scoring night and already a marked man by the opposition.
Racela on Lenda Douanga 3
"We don't really talk about it much but hindi naman siya bawal tumira. If you would notice, he is one of those foreign student-athletes who can make a three," he said.
"Ilan na sila na tumitira, sila Ange [Kouame], pero siya pwede because he's capable of hitting it. We just don't want him to always look for it. So like today, he needed to take it and I asked him after the game, 'Why did you take that three-pointer?' Sabi naman niya, 'I needed to take that, coach.' So okay yun, because that just means his decision making is mature enough na and he knows when to take it."
It was the biggest bucket of the night for Douanga who finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks.
That shot also gave Adamson flashbacks of another surprising buzzer-beater from Douanga way back in 2019 when he sunk a three from way beyond the arc to down National University back in UAAP Season 82.
Aside from Douanga, Racela also credited Lastimosa for understanding when to give the ball up.
"It's nice that si Jerom made that pass to him kasi previously, he was forcing a lot of possessions na may kasama na siyang nalilibre, na all he needed to do was just really give up the ball," the coach remarked. "It's nice na noong huli, binitawan mo kaya naka-shoot si Lenda."
This big Adamson win over La Salle revived its Final Four hopes as the Soaring Falcons ended the first round with a 3-4 record, tied with the Green Archers just on the outside looking in the top four.
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