In front of a crowd of more than 23,000, graduating player Peter Alfaro held the ball as the final buzzer sounded over the Big Dome.
It was not only the end of the San Beda University's tough road back the NCAA basketball title. For Alfaro, along with fellow seniors Damie Cuntapay, Clifford Jopia, and JV Gallego, it was also the end of his collegiate career.
And the graduating players were glad that at the end of it, they were able to prove their doubters wrong.
"Sobrang happy ako kasi sa last year ko, nakuha namin ang championship. Even though super dami ng struggle, super dami ng nag-doubt samin, 'yun [ang] nagpatibay sa'min," Alfaro told GMA Integrated News.
"Coming to this Game 3, nakita mo naman pagiging resilient ng teammates ko. Super happy. Na-appreciate ko 'yung buong San Beda community na sa pag-alis ko ngayon, na-appreciate din nila ako."
[I'm so happy because in my last year, we were able to win the championship. Even though we had a lot of struggles, we had a lot of people doubting us, that just made us stronger. Coming to this Game 3, you saw how resilient my teammates are. Super happy. I appreciate that as I leave, the whole San Beda community appreciates me too.]
Alfaro is proud of what they have accomplished despite all they've been through.
"Nagfa-flashback lang lahat ng struggles namin, doubts ng mga tao sa team namin, 'yung incident na maraming umalis sa'min. Super proud of my boys na nakuha namin 'tong panalo."
[I had a flashback of our past struggles, the doubts people had about us, the incident where a lot of players left. Super proud of my boys that we were able to get this win.]
Cuntapay, who is going pro, echoed his teammate.
"Sobrang happy, sobrang nagpapasalamat ako. Sa believers namin, sa haters namin, sila 'yung nag-push sa'min para makarating sa goal na 'to," Cuntapay said.
"Mga sumusuporta sa'min, believers namin, haters namin, shoutout sa inyo. 'Yun lang masasabi ko, thank you, champion na ako."
[So happy and so thankful. To our believers, and to our haters, they all pushed us to reach this goal. To our supporters, believers, haters, shout out to you all. That's all I can say, thank you, I'm a champion now.]
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
