.this was what came out of coach
franz pumaren's mouth as he was being interviewed by a television reporter on his thoughts on the just-concluded
de la
salle-
ateneo basketball game yesterday afternoon at the
araneta coliseum. an obviously elated (and
relieved) coach best described his team's feat so far this
uaap season, beating their arch rival only twice in their five meetings and yet advancing to the finals by virtue of a twice to beat advantage which the blue eagles failed to overhaul. yes,
two is greater than three this time!
i only saw snippets of the game on television except
for the last five minutes which i dared not to miss. why only snippets? because i was scared, i couldn't bear to watch such an exciting game! i kept flipping through the channels to watch other programs when i couldn't take it, specially when ateneo was leading! ha ha, chicken! but gradually i forced myself. and the green archers didn't disappoint me, the full-house araneta crowd. cholo villanueva played his heart out, t.y. tang displayed his usual form and jv casio held his nerve.
the last five minutes of play was very different from the rest of their games this season. i was always talking of composure and how the archers were lacking. i pointed out that
ateneo seemed to shine brighter and prouder in the end-game enabling them to catch up though la
salle had the advantage. it was the opposite yesterday. la
salle seemed more determined, hungrier. they held their ground and used their heads, converting crucial shots, wasting precious ticks of the timer to the blue eagles' dismay. you learned your lessons well green archers.
galing nyo!next stop, the finals which start on
thursday. the green archers have a formidable challenge ahead of them since their opponents, the
u.e. red warriors, have been undefeated this season. nevertheless,
la sallians never say die and will surely fight to the last second of the season. whatever the result may be against
u.e., we will welcome it with heads high. after that gruelling saga with the blue eagles i feel that it's equal to winning the championship itself.
animo la
salle!
note: photo courtesy of skye from
greenarcher.net forums. 
