The Final Score: Hard not to cheer for FEU and NU in the UAAP finals

 

For FEU, one pass made all the difference.

 

Mike Tolomia is FEU’s Mr. 10 Seconds this season. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the first, second, third, or fourth quarter of games. There’s no difference between the first game of the tournament and the last game of the UAAP final four. Or the last play of a game with a finals berth at stake.

When the shot clock flashes 10, the ball often goes to Tolomia. It’s not happenstance. 

 

Tolomia was already the Tamaraws’ Mr. 10 Seconds during the pre-season. Even if it wasn’t a birthright – FEU coach Nash Racela could’ve yanked that privilege away if changes were necessary - Tolomia rightfully kept that unofficial distinction all throughout UAAP Season 77.

The Tamaraws knew the drill the way they knew Tamaraws had horns. 10 seconds to shoot. Give it to Mike. Halos ‘matic na yan. 

 

Hence, with 10 seconds left in the second and last final four game between FEU and La Salle, Tolomia had the ball. ‘Matic na kasi.

But he wasn’t automatically looking for a shot. Racela practically tattooed a belief on Tolomia’s brain: Mike, hindi mo kailangan tumira. Ang kailangan mo, gumawa ng tamang desisyon. To know what differentiates a shotmaker from a playmaker. To discern the best option for the Tamaraws, and not Tolomia per se. 

 

Tolomia attacked with three seconds left. He surged a step past La Salle’s Julian Sargent. As a result, Tolomia dragged La Salle’s Jason Perkins away from Mac Belo. Belo, who already made three shots from beyond the arc, stood on the right corner, hands ready for the possible pass, head ready for the possible game-winning three. 

 

Mike, hindi mo kailangan tumira. Ang kailangan mo gumawa ng tamang desisyon. 

 

Do I force the shot against two defenders or do I toss the ball to a wide-open teammate who scored 32 points in the last game and was one three-point shot away from scoring 23 points in tonight’s game? The decision, I imagine, wasn’t that hard to make. 

 

“We’re not afraid na nasa kamay ni Mike yung bola,” Racela said during a preseason interview. “He just has to decide correctly.”

 

With a minute left, Tolomia actually passed to Belo and Belo knocked down a three-point shot. FEU went up by three. That was a dress rehearsal.

So with 1.8 seconds left in a tied ballgame, a chance for redemption at stake for a team that desperately yearned for it, FEU’s Mr. 10 Seconds simply did the same thing leading to a more devastating result. Look. Pass. Belo. Three. Kaboom. Buzzer. Bedlam. Finals.
 

 

For Ateneo, one pass could’ve made the difference. 

 

Either NU’s top-notch defense made Ateneo’s Kiefer Ravena look like the un-MVP, or NU’s top-notch defense was emphasized because Ravena is an MVP. It’s probably both. Ravena, after all, is the 38-point man. Mr. Game Winning Shot. 

 

But in four meetings this season, the Bulldogs’ intention was to make Ravena work for every point the way pyramids in Egypt were built with every brick. 

 

Ravena’s shooting performances against the Bulldogs this season: 3-of-20, 7-of-21, 9-of-35, and 6-of-24. NU’s plan for Ravena was to put the pain in painstaking. In a torturous way, the more Ravena tried, the more NU’s defense worked. Like a spider’s web. Like quicksand. 

 

Because the Bulldogs knew, the Blue Eagles knew, you knew, I knew, and even my mom, who only watches the UAAP if she somehow tuned into the game by accident, knew that in a desire to carry his team, a desire elevated to almost Liam-Neeson-in-Taken levels, Ravena would try. 

 

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want… I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

 

With five seconds left in the game and the winner advancing to the UAAP finals, Ravena dashed toward the hoop to try and tie the game. He left NU’s Pao Javelona behind. 

 

I will look for you.

 

He felt he could dart past the taller Alfred Aroga. 

 

I will find you. 

 

But Gelo Alolino’s split-second attempt to help on defense altered Ravena’s plans. That split-second of intrusion forced Ravena to slow down. Aroga caught up. Uh oh. Advantage nullified. Lay-up attempt. Shot blocked. Game over. Bulldogs win. 

 

Liam Neeson never got to finish his sentence.

 

Maybe Ravena could’ve passed to Nico Elorde – Alolino’s primary defensive assignment.

Maybe Ravena could’ve kicked the ball out to a wide-open Chris Newsome who was standing outside the three-point line.

Maybe it’s hard to question Ravena’s predilection for the extra pass since he tallied a game-high seven assists, tying Elorde.

Maybe a losing team’s burden is to live with maybes.

Or maybe Ravena returns next year to complete Liam Neeson’s quote. 

 

Thank you La Salle and Ateneo for the fun ride this season. By all means, bounce back like teams possessed next year.

But I look forward to a title series this year with neither the Archers nor the Eagles.

Gasp. What a bold concept. Admit it or not, we’ll likely enjoy the fresh narrative.

 

Two of my favorite players will enter the UAAP finals: FEU’s Belo and NU’s Troy Rosario. That’s not a coincidence. Actually it is. But it sounds way cooler to say that that it’s not. To choose a winner between Belo and Rosario, therefore, will be as hard as choosing a winner between FEU and NU. 

 

The Tamaraws have been heartbreak kids for the past few seasons. The Bulldogs have been heartbreak kids for the past few decades. I can’t say who’ll win. Hindi ‘to ‘matic. 

 

But here’s a wild hunch: For eventual champions, decision-making and defense could make all the difference. — JST, GMA News