MANILA, Philippines – Had Mike Reyes drained two crucial endgame free throws, UP would have pulled an upset over Ateneo, something the Maroons haven’t done in five years.
The Maroons were trailing 69-70 when Reyes was sent to the foul line with 0.8 ticks left after being fouled by Chris Newsome while taking a shot. He missed the first charity, meaning sinking the second one was a must in order to send the game into overtime.
Then the referees reviewed the video to determine if Reyes was fouled by Newsome while firing a trey and to see if the clock had to be reset. They decided it would just be two freebies and that the time should be 0.8 instead of 0.2 seconds.
There was a long break after Reyes missed his first free throw as the referees conducted their review. He went on to miss the second as well, and the Eagles escaped with a close win and handed the Maroons a heartbreaker of a setback.
Afterwards, Reyes took the blame for the loss.
"Pag nagsulat kayo, sabihin niyo na ako ang nagpatalo (If you write about it, tell your readers that it’s all on me),” he told scribes after the game.
Reyes admitted succumbing to pressure in taking those two foul shots that could’ve given the Maroons their first win over the Eagles since 2009 when they defeated the Katipunan-based squad, 68-58.
"It was a big choking experience for me and I’m gonna deny that,” rued Reyes.
The UP guard finished with a game-high 19 points, including three triples, but his missed freebies didn’t help as the Maroons dropped to 1-11.
Though he carried the fight for UP the entire game, Reyes refused to acknowledge it, instead blaming himself for his endgame blunder.
“Honestly, I’m not going to take any credit for bringing them, carrying the team to that position where we could win. For me, I lost the game for us, it’s my fault. Masakit siya,” Reyes said.
“But I hope I can learn from this moving forward.” – With report from Olmin Leyba