JIO Jalalon did pretty much everything for Arellano and suffered cramps in the endgame of the 92nd NCAA title series opener on Thursday.
It may have hurt the Chiefs' chances.
Jalalon had to be taken out with five minutes left after cramping up, but returned for the final three minutes of the game. He had a chance to tie the game but his shot from way beyond the arc hit nothing but the board.
The pint-sized guard bared his foot was still aching when he took the shot.
"Alam ko na kinuha ko yung bola, na-feel ko na gusto ko i-shoot pero yung paa ko talaga, yung right naman ang gusto mag-cramps," he said.
Jalalon couldn't hide his disappointment moments after the stinging loss but vowed to bounce back in Game Two on Tuesday.
"Wala na kaming ibang iniisip kundi bumawi. Tapos na yung apat na game na talo kami lagi. Gusto lang namin makabawi kami sa Game Two," he said.
Jalalon had an all-around outing of 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Arellano clawed back from a double-digit hole and turned the game into a pulsating nip-and-tuck contest in the fourth period.
"Nakabalik na kami eh. Sayang," said Jalalon, whose team lost to San Beda in all their four meetings this year.
"Yung sakit talaga. Nandoon na kami, nakalamang nakami ng isa, nag-relax pa."
The Chiefs even led 85-84 on Lervin Flores' reverse layup with 2:11 left. But Robert Bolick took over and scored four straight points to give the Red Lions an 88-85 buffer with 3.7 ticks remaining.
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