MANILA, Philippines – For over a year, NU team captain Camille Clarin had a single basketball play ingrained in her mind — the moment when UST guard Kent Pastrana shook her off and nailed a jumper that tied the game in the late stages of Game 3 of last season’s UAAP women’s basketball finals.
That shot proved pivotal as the Tigresses went on to dethrone Clarin and the Lady Bulldogs.
Clarin, still feeling the sting of NU’s monumental loss — which also spoiled the dynastic Lady Bulldogs’ bid for an eighth straight crown — pushed herself to be better this time against UST, especially on the defensive end.
“That play-by-play [call] on that last possession, one year and two days ago, it was ‘package delivered by Kent Jane,’” Clarin said.
“That line has stuck with me for so long. And it was the exact same possession this year.”
So Clarin made sure the results would be reversed this time.
“[If] she was scoring 22 points, she wasn’t going to score 24. That’s all I cared about,” added Clarin. “It was that last possession. Because that’s the possession that was going to win the game. And I made sure that no matter what, she was not going to score.”
With Clarin taking on Pastrana one-on-one, the UST guard had her sights on a potential game-tying or go-ahead possession.
But the NU veteran forced Pastrana to swing the ball to teammate Tacky Tacatac, who failed to hit the buzzer-beating three.
With that key defensive stop, Clarin helped the Lady Bulldogs escape the defending champion Tigresses, 72-71, in Game 1 of the finals to stay unbeaten and move within a win of reclaiming the crown.
“I thought we learned big time last year for not really closing the game the way it should be closed,” said NU head coach Aris Dimaunahan.
“In the process, we weren’t able to get the win last year, so we really waited this long for this moment to be on this stage again,” he added.
“This game is about learning. And we learned big time and I’m glad that we were able to pull through this game.”
As NU remains perfect at 15-0, the team aims to make it a sweet 16 in Game 2 on Wednesday, December 11, and get right back on the women’s basketball throne. – Rappler.com