Lyceum of the Philippines University head coach Gilbert Malabanan shared that giving Oman Omandac the go-signal to hit the crucial baskets down the stretch against De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde was purely based on his own instincts.
And Omandac didn't disappoint Malabanan.
The sophomore bruiser knocked down back-to-back three-pointers, both of which against the defense of reigning MVP WIll Gozum, to give the Pirates an 83-79 cushion with 33.3 seconds left in the game.
Those proved to be the daggers as the Blazers failed to crawl back with Prince Carlos missing out on his final triple attempt.
"Actually iba kasi ‘yung nararamdaman ko ‘pag may ginagamit akong players eh. Iba kasi ‘yung feeling na nararamdaman mo ‘pag head coach ka, instinct ba," Malabanan said.
"Oo (designed talaga para sa kaniya 'yung final plays). ‘Yun din naman gusto ko, ‘yung sharing the ball and looking for the open man."
(Actually, I have a different feeling when I use certain players. It's a different feeling when you're a head coach, it's instinct. That was really designed for him. That's what I want also -- to share the ball and look for the open man.)
For Omandac, it was also about trusting his own shots even after missing his first four triple attempts before hitting two huge bombs in the final seconds.
"Nagtiwala lang din ako sa sarili ko na kahit ilang mintis na ‘yung pinukol ko sa first half, sabi ko lang sa sarili ko na papasok din ‘to."
(I also trusted myself that even if I missed some of my shots in the first half, I told myself that this will still go.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
