Team captain Ry Dela Rosa on Wednesday carried Jose Rizal University to a 70-67 come-from-behind victory over Arellano University as the Heavy Bombers evened their slate in the NCAA Season 98 at 2-2.
Dela Rosa fired a corner three-pointer with 4.8 ticks left in the game to send JRU to back-to-back wins, and eventually surpass their one-win outing last season.
But prior to that big shot, Dela Rosa was misfiring, missing all four of his field goal attempts to only tally one point up til then.
Despite the team captain's cold hand, JRU head coach Louie Gonzales said he put his trust in his gunner, especially in the dying moments of the game.
"Siguro tiwala lang talaga. I know talagang buong laro walang (tira), I think parang iyon ata unang shot ni Ry, the only three points na na-convert nya," shared Gonzales.
"He's firing blanks eh. Pero ganun ako ka-tiwala sa mga players ko and I know iyong three points na iyon, ititira nya at buong buo iyong loob nya."
With Dela Rosa's clutch triple, JRU picked up the victory and eclipsed their 1-8 finish in Season 97, where their sole win came at the expense of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
But Gonzales said they are not putting too much premium on that feat, stressing they have to work harder as the season progresses.
"We're unconscious about it. For us ang gusto lang namin is to get better," the tactician said.
"So as the season progress, alam ko kulang pa kami sa condition, hindi pa buo iyong rotation namin, alam ko mayroon pa akong madi-dig deep doon sa mga players ko."
—JMB, GMA News
