Right from the start, the Green Archers were in total control of the match, maintaining its double-digit lead over NU after three quarters. Up by 14 early in the final period, it likely seemed that they were on their way for an easy win.
But the relentless Bulldogs suddenly went on a 16-1 run and eventually took the upper-hand with 28 ticks remaining in the game. Luckily for us, Kurt Lojera’s baseline jumper and ensuing defensive stop prevented what could have been a monumental meltdown. What looked like a walk in the park turned into a nail-biter of a win.
A defeat like that would have been extremely painful for the team. Imagine starting the season 0-2 in what many believe to be a well-balanced and highly-competitive UAAP season. So yeah lucky for us.
But one should not depend on luck to bail you out. The team should have won comfortably here. And no, you can’t fault the officiating here, it was all on them.
How they executed in the final 3 and a half minutes of the game was like they were just trying to protect the lead rather than extending it further. They need to keep the intensity going until the final buzzer. Let’s have that killer’s instinct.
This is not the first time we have seen something like this. Past editions of the Green Archers at some point blew big leads down the stretch.
Nevertheless, we’ll take this win. If you look at it, it’s actually better for them to experience this kind of adversity already as it will make them mentally stronger as the tournament progresses. Note that this team is still not yet in peak form and will only get better in the coming games.
We hope the team has learned a lot from this experience. Keep Grinding!