LOSING to La Salle twice stings, but for Rey Remogat, he's hopeful that the script would be the same as last year: with the University of the Philippines winning it all in the end.
"Masakit yung pagkatalo, pero ang iniisip na lang namin is maging positive kasi kung iisipin natin last year, same story na 0-2 din kami against La Salle, pero nag-champion pa rin kami. Malay natin, baka ganoon ulit yung plano ni Lord para sa amin," he said on Saturday.
Remogat did his earnest to help the defending champions hurdle their new-age rival, uncorking 25 points on 5-of-8 shooting from distance, all while gathering eight assists and six rebounds.
Unfortunately, his efforts fell short, as the Fighting Maroons ended the UAAP Season 88 men's basketball eliminations with an 87-82 loss to the Green Archers.
READ: La Salle shows guts in shutdown of playoff-bound UP
But rather than dwell on this loss, Remogat is opting to put a positive spin on it, knowing that though La Salle may have won the battle, UP has not yet conceded the war.
Just take last year: State U failed to hurdle their Taft counterparts in the preliminary round, but made the right moves and solved that green-and-white equation in the finals where it won in three games.
It's this same playbook which Remogat is pinning his hopes to, as UP recalibrates for the Final Four.
"Yung nangyari sa amin ngayon, learning para sa amin yun na kailangan naming alamin yung mga pagkakamali namin at itama yung mga yun para sa mga darating na laro," said the 5-foot-10 guard of the Fighting Maroons, who ended the elims with a 10-4 record.
Rey of light
What the Gen. Trias, Cavite native is looking forward to is playing in his first postseason - one that he failed to do in his time in University of the East.
Remogat admitted just having gotten a huge confidence boost in the lead up to the Final Four, but acknowledged the need for him to channel his excitement for the betterment of the team as a whole.
"Excited ako, pero focused pa rin kasi minsan yung excitement pwede kang dalhin sa kapahamakan eh. Ako naman yung excitement nilalagay ko sa tama," he said.
"Focused kami sa system namin sa team. Kung maganda ang laro ko o ni Harold [Alarcon] o kung sino pa, dahil sa system ni coach Gold [Monteverde] yun at hindi dahil nagkanya-kanya kami.
"Sa Final Four, first time ko, so wala na akong gagawin kundi ibigay yung best ko. Kung anong meron ako, yung gasolina sa katawan ko, uubusin ko na lahat lahat."
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.
