BY John Miles Arcenal
AFTER drilling four clutch triples to drag Ateneo through two overtimes, Jared Bahay made the toughest call of the night - sitting out the third extra period to protect his season.
For two additional frames, the sophomore guard had the Blue Eagle Gym rocking, lighting up the crowd with 17 points, six assists, and a string of gutsy plays that kept the home team alive against an equally-motivated University of Santo Tomas.
But just when everyone thought Bahay would once again take over in 3OT, however, he never checked back in.
“Honestly, ‘di na ako bumalik no’ng third OT because of my shoulder and sumasakit siya and I didn’t force it,” he revealed.
“I was looking at the big picture - to finish this season healthy. I don’t wanna force myself and ma-injury lang sa third overtime.”
It was a mature decision from a 20-year-old who could’ve easily chosen to ride the adrenaline and chase another highlight moment.
Instead, Bahay knew that one game - no matter how thrilling - shouldn’t come at the cost of a full season.
As he put it, “Actually gusto kong pumasok kasi sabi ko mas masakit kapag natalo kami, pero iniisip ko lang yung bigger picture talaga - to finish this season healthy and happy, and to be able to reach that ultimate goal, the championship.”
J-House a rest
When Ian Espinosa and Jaden Lazo took over his position, Bahay still made sure his teammates felt his trust from the bench.
“Sabi ko lang sa kanila, ‘Kaya niyo yan, dalhin niyo yung team.’ Same lang naman kami, may dalawang kamay, may dalawang paa. Yung mga ginagawa ko, magagawa rin nila. Sobrang tiwala ako sa teammates ko,” he said.
On a brighter note, Bahay assured that the injury isn’t anything serious.
“It’s nothing major naman kasi sabi ko nga I protected myself, hindi ko nalang finorce to third overtime. Dahil doon sigurado akong it will heal,” he said.
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