Manifest they did, twice-to-beat they got.
On November 7, Arellano University absorbed its sixth loss in NCAA Season 101 after a heartbreaking 77-79 defeat to JRU. From the outside looking in, securing a coveted twice-to-beat bonus in the new tournament format seemed nearly impossible for the Chiefs.
Unfazed, head coach Chico Manabat kept the faith, trusted his boys to execute—and they did.
Sitting at three wins and six losses, the Chiefs rallied in their next outings and went on a four-game winning streak. They had to grind out those victories too; aside from their rout of Lyceum, they edged San Sebastian College–Recoletos, the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, and Mapua University by fewer than seven points each.
“Nag-peak lang kami at the right time. Siguro ‘yung mga bata na ’yan, with the combination ng mga coaches, from the preparation, lahat chine-check namin. Kasi ito, may mga sakit, may mga injury, and nagtataka nga ako ba’t biglang nag-heal and nakakapaglaro. God is good all the time,” Manabat said after Arellano’s win against Mapua.
Thanks to their efforts these past couple of weeks, Arellano found itself with a chance to steal the last twice-to-beat bonus in Group A. However, it would not have come easy as they had to snatch it from the NCAA’s defending champions.
Aware of the points differential against them, Manabat’s men battled and clawed their way to victory.
Down by five points with three minutes left, Arellano caught life courtesy of T-Mc Ongotan and Renzo Abiera.
Abiera, who had not made a single three-pointer all game, knocked down two crucial triples—including the go-ahead shot that put the Chiefs back on top. Ongotan, who like the Chiefs has been peaking at the right time, calmly drained two free throws that sealed the win and the twice-to-beat advantage.
Despite being the one to convert the big shots down the stretch, Abiera gave all the praises to his “family” on the bench for giving him energy to keep going.
“Hindi lang ’yun teammates eh. Family kami dito. As in, grabe ’yung pinagsamahan namin on and off the court. Especially ngayon na malaki na ’yung tsansa namin. Palagi na kaming isa. ’Yun ’yung maganda sa amin.”
Ongotan, meanwhile—who faced the pressure of taking the final free throws—said he embraced the moment, seeing it as an opportunity to bring glory to his team and school.
“Hindi naman sa akin ’yung pressure. Kasi nga, lagi sa amin sinasabi ni coach Chico na ’yung pressure, huwag namin bitawan, yakapin namin.”
The Chiefs and Manabat now bring their twice-to-beat bonus against Letran. Coming from the Knights pipeline, Arellano’s head tactician is excited to apply all that he has learned against the team who first gave him a chance in the NCAA.
“Magandang ano [laban] ’yun eh. Kumbaga, makakalaban ko rin kung saan din ako nanggaling, na minold din nila ako as a coach,” Manabat shared.
“Hindi ko tinitingnan ’yung advantage namin na twice-to-beat. Ang tinitingnan ko, papaano namin sila tatalunin sa preparation, and then sa tao, and maging healthy silang lahat—physically and emotionally and spiritually.”
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
