The King Tamaraw’s swan song?

When he was declared the UAAP MVP in his sophomore year, the sky was seen to be the limit for Ryan Roose Garcia. And why not? He had an immaculate jumper that seemed to always find the bottom of the net. He had the ability to drive to the basket and score over defenders much taller than he was. He showed tremendous court vision when he found his teammates for wide open shots. The only thought that ran through the minds of the opposing teams and their fans was that if Garcia was this good, this early in his career, no one was going to be able to stop him when he reached his fourth or fifth playing year. However, a lot has changed from those days. The misses and frustrations mounted as fast as tattoos popped up all over his formerly squeaky clean image. Garcia recently played out his fourth year of eligibility and he failed to make it to the UAAP’s Final Four for the first time in his career. After losing to the DLSU Green Archers in the playoff for the last Final Four slot, RR raised his hand to sing their school hymn. He was just under the basket, with a towel covering most of his face. After the song ended, he quickly turned around and walked away from the court, disappearing from the crowd as fast as possible. The dugout of both teams were in close proximity with each other, a harmless coincidence in regular games. A cruel jape in this win or go home match. The shouts of "Animo La Salle" pierced the concrete walls, penetrating FEU’s space, reminding them of a game they’d rather forget. The game started rather oddly. Mike Tolomia and Terrence Romeo comprised the starting backcourt for FEU. The former UAAP MVP sat on the bench. With six minutes left in the first quarter, head coach Bert Flores called for Garcia. But as this happened, Romeo sank his first three-point shot of the game. Flores quickly recalled Garcia from the scorer’s table and the frustrated player walked back to their bench. The Tamaraws were up by ten points in the fourth quarter, which quickly turned into a seven-point deficit thanks to a blistering Green Archer barrage. But the Tamaraws had one last run left in them. Romeo sank a triple, off a Garcia assist, to cut the lead to four points. The Archers then botched an inbound play that allowed Garcia to sink a three of his own from the corner. With the clock trickling down, FEU had a legitimate chance to tie the game or even take the lead with a three. But all they came up with was a broken play resulting in a turnover. Garcia did not even touch the ball in that possession. After Almond Vosotros missed his first  throw, Garcia approached Russel Escoto. A little over two seconds were left on the clock and the Tamaraws had no timeouts left. Garcia motioned that he was going to park near half court to try and get in a good shot. Instead, Escoto passed the ball to Romeo who was about 90 feet away from the basket. FEU’s dugout was dominated by the smell of rubbing alcohol and men’s perfume. A group of girls waited outside to see a last glimpse of their favorite Tamaraws for the season. Slowly, the members of the eliminated team trickled out of their locker room led by their coach who went straight to the media area. Garcia was one of the last to go out. "Anong plano mo next year?" I asked him. "Di ko pa alam," he answered. This is what losing does. It leaves things undefined. If his Tamaraws had won this game, his plan would have been definite. Rest tonight. Train tomorrow. Prepare for Ateneo next Saturday. But now that they lost, now they aren’t going to have a shot at revenge against Ateneo, Garcia does not know what to do. “RR, walang iwanan ha?” a fan pleaded. Even their fans know that the departure of their King Tamaraw is a legitimate possibility. They can only plead and hope that Garcia stays to play one more year. Right at that moment, Garcia did not know what was left to do. This team isn’t his anymore. It hadn't been his for the entire season. It belonged to Terrence Romeo, the guy who won the Rookie of the Year honors when Garcia was named MVP in Season 73. It’s Romeo who took the most shots, it’s Romeo who’s a member of the UAAP’s Mythical Five. And by the looks of it, that wasn't going to change. There was one shot that was supposed to be the Garcia's moment, that game-winning lay-up against the National University Bulldogs that was supposed to catapult them to the Final Four. It was unceremoniously taken away from him by the UAAP Board. There’s no doubt that if he applies for the 2013 PBA Draft, he will be drafted in the first round. And at this point, Garcia needs to weigh his options. It would be tremendous for FEU and their legions of fans if Garcia decides to play out his last year. But if he decides to leave, can anyone really blame him? - AMD, GMA News