For College of Saint Benilde-La Salle Green Hills big man Luis Pablo, the Greenies seemed to be in disarray when they faced Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Game 1 of the NCAA Season 98 juniors basketball finals on Monday.
Pablo, the frontrunner for the MVP award, scored 22 points and grabbed 19 boards in a dominant showing for the Mandaluyong-based squad in a tough 85-81 loss against the Squires.
The Greenies led at the first half, 44-41, but Letran started to pull away in the third period before eventually drawing first blood in the best-of-three series.
"Everytime lumalamang kami, 'yun po ang problem namin, nagre-relax," Pablo said after the match.
(Everytime we get the lead, we tend to relax, that's our problem.)
Pablo, however, admitted he had mistakes of his own in the match.
"Pero aminin ko po, crucial din 'yung mga pagkakamali kanina kasi 'yung mga pagkakamali ko nung first half, 'yun po ang nagbigay ng opportunity para makahabol sila. Aminado po ako sa mistakes ko."
(I admit that my mistakes were also crucial during the first half, that gave the opportunity for the opponent to catch up. I admit my mistakes.)
Still, Pablo fought all the way, tallying 37 minutes and 49 seconds in the 40-minute match. And they needed all those minutes as some of his teammates, including his frontcourt partner Seven Gagate, struggled with foul trouble.
"Nung second half, alam ko po kasi talagang kaya, kaya kahit sobrang pagod ako, lumaban ako. Pero wala akong magawa kasi hindi po ako matulungan ng iba kong teammates kasi nasa bench sila, foul trouble," said the 18-year old big man.
(During the second half, I knew we could do it, that's why even though I am tired, I still fight. But I could only do so much since some of my teammates are on the bench for foul trouble.)
"Kung bumitaw po ako, siguro lalo na pong natapos nang maaga."
(If I gave up, perhaps the game was decided earlier.)
But Pablo could not hide his frustrations about his team, saying they seemed to lack focus and had different goals in mind during the game.
"Sobrang lumalabas po 'yung frustration ko kanina sa court kasi sobrang crucial ng mga pagkakamali namin sa team. 'Yung mga pagkakamali namin na di na dapat ginagawa, talagang nangyayari. Ang malala pa po, every time nagkakamali kami, nauulit pa po," said the GH big man.
(My frustrations were coming out on the court because of our crucial errors. Those should have been avoided, but what's worse is every time we make a mistake, it tends to get repeated.)
"Next game, ang goal namin is to win po pero kailangan pa po namin mabuo 'yung team kasi pansin naman po sa court kanina, parang lahat naghiwa-hiwalay na. Hindi na kami isang solid na grupo. Parang kanya-kaniya kami ng mindset, ilan na lang sa amin ang lumalaban."
(Next game, our goal is to win, but we need to regroup since, as seen on the court earlier, we were kind of disarrayed. We were not a solid group. It seemed like we had different mindsets and only a few of us were fighting.)
For Pablo, it is important that they seize the opportunity while in the Finals.
"Mahirap naman kung manghinayang tayo sa dulo, 'yun ayaw natin mangyari kasi puro sayang," he said. "Nandito na tayo ngayon. Ito na 'yung chance para kunin ang opportunity na 'yun para hindi na pagsisihan sa dulo."
(It's hard to regret in the end. We don't want that. We're here and this is our chance so we should seize the opportunity to avoid regrets.)
"Kailangan po talaga namin mag-focus kasi pansin ko po kanina, parang wala po sa focus karamihan sa amin. Parang every time po, parang stats na po hinahabol namin eh. Alam naman po namin na kaya po namin i-lessen 'yung mistakes na ganoon, pero usually di naman maiiwasan magka-mistake sa game, pero sana hindi paulit-ulit gagawin," he added.
(We need to focus since it seemed that many of us lacked focus. It looked like we were just chasing for stats. We know we could lessen our mistakes, while it was unavoidable, it should not be always the case.)
Pablo said they need to talk as a team to focus and follow the plan for the next game, which is crucial as it will decide their fate in the season.
Game 2 of the Letran-LSGH finals is set for Thursday.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
