Guard Robi Nayve finally regained his shooting touch as he and big man WIll Gozum led De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde to 71-62 win over San Sebastian College-Recoletos in the NCAA Season 97 men's basketball tournament on Friday.
The 5-foot-10 shooter finished with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal as the Blazers ended a two-game losing streak.
But amidst a stellar showing, Nayve revealed that he was actually suffering from an injury on his right hand, which happens to be his shooting hand.
"Tumama sa forearm ni (Sidney) Mosqueda during our practice tapos na-hyperextend kahapon. Actually, may injury na ako dito before pa, parang na-reinjure ko lang ulit," Nayve, who was struggling the past two games, shared.
"I really thought kahapon na I couldn't play today pero 'yun nga, I just really treated as much as possible and having the mindset lang that I can play."
Nayve also shared it did affect his game but glad several of his shots went in.
"Actually it did affect my game because I had two airballs. It hit my thumb first and it was hard to adjust pero good thing na-make ko naman yung ibang shots," he added.
Playing through pain, Nayve earned the respect of head coach Charles Tiu.
"Actually, interesting kasi may injury siya sa kamay niya ngayon sa shooting hand niya but he was still able to contribute," Tiu said, though he also pointed our a point of improvement for Nayve.
"He's one of our leaders but I would wish, though, that he would be a bit better in taking care of the ball."
—JMB, GMA News
