Desiderio’s last-minute three hacks Maroons’ victory over Tigers
A decisive do-or-die three-point shot from University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons skipper Paul Desiderio bested out University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers within the last five seconds of their first game in UAAP Season 80’s Men Basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena, with one point, 74-73.
Hacking the win from the Growling Tigers, Desiderio’s dedication to win the game led UP to its first win this season, as one of his two successful three-point hit out of 11 tries landed in the right moment.
The Growling Tigers leaned on a fiery start with a 7-point lead, 11-4, led by Tiger skipper Marvin Lee, but Fighting Maroons’ Desiderio and point guard Jun Manzo led the maroon squad in hammering down the gap to one as the quarter ended, 19-18.
Gaining an upper hand by one from the first quarter, the Growling Tigers started slow in the second quarter while the State U squad took this advantage. The Tigers tried to battle it out with the help from its mainstays Jeepy Faundo and Wendell De Guzman, but to no avail, UP’s Jarrell Lim, Chris Vito, and Noah Webb resisted the onslaught of the Tigers, which paved for the Maroons to gain the upper hand with nine points upon ending the first half, 33-42.
Coming from an intense first half, the Fighting Maroon squad kept up the heat in the court as they continued their onslaught against the España-based squad, but this quarter has seen more unwavering Growling Tigers as they became more aggressive, which led to UP’s Ibrahim Ouattara sitting down at the bench due to foul trouble, making this as an opportunity for UST to comeback, led by center Steve Akomo, tying up the game, 57-57.
Fourth quarter saw much more offensive play from both teams but Desiderio prevailed in chipping in for UP’s score, with the help of his teammates Vito, Manzo, Webb, super rookie Juan Gomez de Liano, as well as his brother Javier. But UST’s skipper Faundo, and his teammates Akomo, Jordan Sta.Ana, and Jorem Soriano continued to attack for the win, which led to another tied score as the last 18 seconds of the game approached, 71-71.
The crowd was going wild during the last minute of the game, clutching on to their own champions, even more as the game was tied to71. By the last 5.3 seconds, Marvin Lee of UST Growling Tigers broke this tier with charity stripes, giving the tigers an upper hand with the score of 73-71.
State U’s Coach Bo Perasol called off for a timeout with that moment. The crowd was filled with the tension when time stopped in the arena as the two teams went back to the bench area and planned out what was remaining of the game.
As the clock started ticking again, the clash between the Growling Tigers and Fighting Maroons was so fast that one second before the game ends, Desiderio pierced what was UST’s winning chance, a score led by two now down to one, 73-74, by a three-point clutch.
With 1.4 seconds still ticking, Growling Tiger’s coach Boy Sablan also called for a timeout, and
his squad tried to gain back the lead as Jeepy Faundo took the chance when time resumed but to no avail, his shot went around the ring and fell, dictating the fall of the Tigers on its first game this season.
This led to the UP Fighting Maroons celebrating their first victory for the tournament, giving them a strong start. But Coach Perasol and the entire team hopes for more with this one of a kind victory.
“Yung una kong objective was to generate excitement kasi talagang walang kabuhay-buhay yung UP Community pagdating sa pagbigay ng chance sa basketball team… but it generated the excitement again with that last second shot by Paul, and di ‘ko alam how he does that, but during the timeout, he called it. Sabi niya na ‘Coach, mananalo tayo, papasok itong tira na ‘to’, because our instruction was when you’re open at the three-point area, take it.” Perasol expressed during the post-game conference.
“More than anything else, ako, personally, gusto kong maibalik yung passion nila (to UP Community), yung paniniwala nila sa programa (to UP Men’s Basketball team) eh. More than the wins, more than the losses, I just wanted to get back the excitement that every time they see their team, they wanted to cheer for that team, no matter what happens,” Perasol added.
Desiderio on the other hand narrated what was going on during the timeout before the tables turned. “Sinabi ko sa kanila na ‘pag open ako, ibigay niyo kasi ititira ko talaga,” he said to his teammates during the timeout. “Dami ko nang tinira eh. Mahihiya pa ba ako eh last shot na,” Desiderio even joked off.
Denying a win for the Growling Tigers, Desiderio already had a resolve even before the season started. “Bago pa mag-start ang season, lagi kong sinasabi na papasok kami sa Final Four. Gusto ko at least first game pa lang, mapakita na naming kaya namin,” he shared.
UP Maroon’s assault was led by Desiderio with 17 points and 9 boards, and with everyone else in the team chipping in for victory.
But the battle of the State U squad continues with the Ateneo Blue Eagles as its next opponent. Perasol assures that despite the big differences of the two teams, it will be a must-see match between the two neighboring teams. “We’ll make sure that anything with our power, we’ll give it to them,” Perasol said. The Battle of Katipunan between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UP Fighting Maroons is on September 13, Wednesday, at the Smart Araneta Colliseum, 4 PM.
When asked for his opinion of the next opponent, the hero of this game lightens up the mood. “Ateneo? Sana matiyambahan,” Desiderio said as he laughed.
UP 74 – Desiderio 17, Vito 9, Webb 7, Gomez de Liano Ju 7, Manzo 6, Gomez de Liano Ja 6, Ouattara 4, Lim 4, Prado 4, Dario 4, Lao 4, Romero 2, Harris 0
UST 73 – Lee 20, Akomo 15, Sta. Ana 11, Soriano 8, Huang 6, Garcia 5, Faundo 4, Arana 2, De Guzman 2, Basibas 0, Caunan 0, Kwawukumey 0, Macasaet 0, Romero 0
QUARTER SCORES: 18-19, 42-33, 57-57, 74-73
