Mark Omega, known for his solid inside presence and rebounding abilities, pulled the trigger and shot the biggest triple of the game to steer Perpetual to an 81-80 escape against top seed Lyceum of the Philippines University on Sunday.
While Omega was the most unlikely player to hit that dagger, Perpetual head coach Myk Saguiguit stressed that the shot wasn't just pure luck.
He also shared that the play was originally designed for team captain Jielo Razon but the defense on the graduating guard forced him to issue the pass to an Omega, who would nail the off-the-glass three-pointer with 2.4 second left.
"Breakdown ‘yun. Actually kay Jielo (‘yung last shot) pero maganda ‘yung pop-out niya at saka he deserved that shot kasi kahit sa ensayo, pina-practice niya talaga ‘yun," Saguiguit said.
"Hindi tsamba ‘yun."
(It was a breakdown. It was supposed to be for Jielo but he had a good pop-up and he deserved that shot because he practiced it in practice. That was not luck.)
Omega himself was in disbelief that his lone triple of the game sank to steer the ALTAs to their fourth win in a row, boosting their Final Four hopes.
Prior to the game, the 6-foot-5 bruiser only had three triples made in six attempts through 14 games. Against the Pirates, he didn't even try to make one until that game-winning bomb.
"Sa tingin ko no’n hindi papasok kasi ang lakas po eh pero God’s will kasi nag-board," the third-year Omega shared.
"Hindi po ako makapaniwala na nagawa ko ‘yun. Sobrang saya, hindi ko maipaliwanag ‘yung saya ko."
(I thought it would not get through since it was strong, but by God's will, it went through the board. I could not believe I was able to make it. I'm very happy, I could not explain it.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
