By MARK REY MONTEJO
Imagine spending hours each day just to hone the craft on the court and yet still falter when it mattered most – when a championship is on the line.
That was exactly what happened to University of the Philippines forward Francis Lopez when he botched four crucial free throws and had a careless turnover late in the 75-76 Game 2 loss to La Salle.
UP could have been on the lead and probably even celebrating if not for the crucial misses.
But Lopez offered no excuses and owned up to his late game blunders.
“There’s no excuse [about it], I just missed them [and] can’t do anything but to move on,” said Lopez.
“Still have a Game 3 [and, we] still have another opportunity. Just gonna be focused on that,” he added. “There’s no best way than to move on from this.”
The 6-foot-6 high-flying forward, who registered 16 points, nine rebounds, one assist, two steals and four blocks but couldn’t deliver the big hits.
Lopez had the chance to somehow redeem himself with his pass to Gerry Abadiano for the game-winner but the guard came a little short on his triple try.
The high-flying forward said they didn’t have a timeout and tried to give the ball to JD Cagulangan in the final possession.
“I believe we didn’t have any timeouts [and] we didn’t call any timeouts at the end, we were just looking for the open man,” Lopez continued.
“I had turnovers, we just couldn’t get it to Maimai (JD Cagulangan), and that’s about it,” he added.
It can be remembered that Cagulangan hit a booming stepback triple in Game 3 of Season 84 (2022) finals at the very same venue, closing out the series and ending the 36-year title drought of UP.
La Salle ended with the great escape as it also overcame some crucial free throw misses from Kevin Quiambao in the waning seconds.
Yet, life goes on for the Maroons as they still have their time to refigure on how to dethrone the defending champs Archers this Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
