ANSWER to the question above? It doesn't matter.
At least, that's the belief of Far Eastern University shot-caller Sean Chambers, who would rather zone in on their untimely losing slide than hone in on lead guard Janrey Pasaol's decision-making in the endgame of their loss to Ateneo on Saturday.
READ: Alas, Ateneo hang on vs hard-charging FEU inside Blue Eagle Gym
Trailing by as much as 18 in the third quarter, the Tamaraws kept coming and went on a 10-0 run built on two triples from Jorick Bautista to find themselves down by just three with still 3.7 seconds left on the clock.
Only, after Chambers sued for time to draw up a play to tie the tally, last year's MVP Pasaol opted to drive from behind the arc to the top of the key for a floater.
The shot clanged off the rim just as time expired - but even if it had gone in, the game would have ended with FEU still losing by one point.
Talking to reporters after the game, the green-and-gold head coach didn't go into specifics of their last play.
“We had our chance to try to squeeze it out at the end," he said. "But you've got to play perfect basketball.”
FEU-ture is what matters for Tams
Instead of pointing fingers, Chambers would want to make it clear to his wards all the points for improvement they need to work on to get back to the form they had when they started the season 4-1.
“I just don't know why we're so tight. Once I got us to relax and understand you don't overcome a big lead by trying to get it all in one play. You have to go play-by-play," he said.
The Tamaraws' promising beginning not only had them thinking of a return to the Final Four, but also even the finals.
But for Chambers, this slump just means one thing: they haven't been playing with the same hunger.
The good news is FEU has enough time to regain the determination the Blue Eagles just displayed in front of it.
As he put it, “Moving forward, the script has been flipped on us. We are now the desperate team.”
“We're all tied here in a bunch. So we would like our leaders to show leadership and continue to lead the way and not let the young guys fall behind,” he added, talking about the four-team logjam for fourth they now find themselves in.
“I think a message was sent that, you know, if guys are not working hard enough, then we'll try different things.”
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