Mikee Reyes muffs free throws, takes blame for UP loss

Kiefer Ravena of Ateneo drive into Miguel Reyes of UP who later miss the free throw that cost them the game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines — “It was a choke.”

Mikee Reyes openly took the blame after muffing two potential game-winning free throws with less than a second left in University of the Philippines’ 69-70 loss to Ateneo Wednesday.

Reyes, the outspoken point guard, was the major reason why the Fighting Maroons found themselves with a golden opportunity to beat the second-running Blue Eagles.

But Reyes insisted that what mattered most is he didn’t deliver in the end.

“It’s on me and no one else. You can say everything that I exploded in the fourth, ako nagdala (I carried the team), if it wasn’t for me we wouldn’t be in that position but at the end of the day it’s two free throws,” said Reyes, who shot 15 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter. “I think if I agreed to that, that shows it’s okay for me that I missed those free throws.”

“I needed to make two free throws for us to win the game and if not we’d still lose, so it’s still 1-11 for us,” Reyes, who held his head high, added.

Down by a point with 10.1 seconds left, the 5-foot-9 Reyes dribbled the ball down court and took it upon himself to take the last shot. He stepped back and put up a jumper from almost long range and got clipped on his right elbow by Ateneo’s Chris Newsome with 0.2 tenths of a second left.

Upon review, the game clock was then moved to 0.8 tenths of a tick remaining and it was determined that Reyes’ attempt was just a two-pointer with his right foot stepping at the 3-point line.

The review of the final play though, that came after Reyes had missed the first freebie, played its role.

“Freeze? Honestly, I thought I had three free throws. Tapos ang tagal (and it took long),” Reyes said.

But Reyes won’t make it as an excuse.

“It was a big choking experience for me. And I’m not gonna deny that it was a choke.”

On nearly picking up its second win of the season at the expense of a title contender in Ateneo, Reyes said he’s had enough of close wins.

“Sawa na ako sa ganon (I’m fed up of it). Honestly, I’m not gonna take credit for bringing them, taking them to that position that we can win for me I lost the game for us. It’s my fault, masakit (it hurts) and I hope I can learn from this moving forward.”