BOTH the University of the Philippines head coach Goldwin Monteverde and Veejay Pre looked and sounded exhausted when they sat down in front of reporters for their post-win interview on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Of course they were, as the Fighting Maroons needed nearly two and a half hours to put away University of Santo Tomas in a double-overtime classic.
"Pagdating sa double-overtime, puso na lang talaga eh," Monteverde told mediamen.
READ: UP fights off UST in 2OT classic to stretch streak to four games
And when it comes to heart, nobody showed it better than Pre who posted a 30-point, 16-rebound double-double to go along with four steals and three assists.
Even more, he scored all seven of UP's points in the second extra period, outscoring all by his lonesome the Growling Tigers who only mustered five.
That the talented transferee came running to answer when his number was called was not a surprise at all for his mentor who said, "We never doubted Veejay to step up sa ganitong klaseng situations."
UP works to fight
Monteverde's full faith isn't confined to the court, as Pre has been proving himself over and over again during training.
"By now, he has adapted sa system. Yung tiwala namin sa kanya, yun ang importante," he said. "He's the hardest worker sa team and makikita yun before and after practices. 'Pag nakita mo yung ganun, 'di ka na magdadalawang-isip."
The 21-year-old forward, though, sees nothing special with what he's doing from practice to the game itself.
"Yung hard work, yun ang kailangan para maging great player ka," he said.
Nonetheless, greatness is exactly what the Fighting Maroons got from Pre when it mattered most.
He was exhausted in the post-game conference because he had just given his team his all.
In return, State U gave him his props once he finally returned to the locker room after speaking with media, whooping and hollering right when their newfound go-to-guy entered.
It was well-deserved. And he's only going to deserve more and more - because he's going to work more and more.
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