Bright Akhuetie with a throwdown. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
In a game that saw numerous elbows and an ejection, it needs one climactic moment to cement its notoriety.
Sure Bright Akhuetie nailed the game-winner to lift University of Perpetual Help over San Beda 88-86, but it was a play way before that assured the game’s legacy.
READ: Akhuetie shines bright as Perpetual nips San Beda at the buzzer
Midway through the fourth withthe Red Lions holding a 74-73 lead, MVP Scottie Thompson drove the lane then handed the ball to a trailing Akhuetie and everything fell into place.
In between Akhuetie and the 14-inch rim is Ola Adeogun. Then the Altas’ big man rose up, right hand cocked behind his head and boom.
“I didn’t seen anything but I saw Ola,” Akhuetie said, a smile etched on his face.
Akhuetie put Adeogun on a demoralizing poster that sent the Altas crowd in a frenzy.
“I saw him and I know I had to go hard.”
For Akhuetie, it wasn’t Adeogun who had pushed him to the limit but the whole Red Lions team who beat them in the first round.
Akhuetie said the Altas know they are capable of beating San Beda, it was just only a matter of doing it.
“Based on the first game, I know we can beat them, we just had to come out and play strong.”