Isaac Go
Mustering all the remaining strength from his weary legs, Isaac Go hurtled down the floor like a freight train, chasing what looked like a lost cause as if his life depended on it.
The 6-foot-8 big man got to his spot in time and did just enough to delay the play that separated victory from defeat for these young and fearless bunch of Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Throwing off Ron Dennison by his mere presence, Go keyed the Blue Eagles’ greatest escape act in UAAP Season 79—a 69-68 overtime cliffhanger over the Far Eastern U Tamaraws at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Fat Isaac wouldn’t have gotten to that spot,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin, describing the version of Go he first saw when he took over the program early this year.
This was, indeed, a fitter and stronger version of Go, much like the upstart Eagles, who have grown before the league’s eyes over the course of the season and now looked primed to challenge their fierce rival in a dream finals duel starting Saturday.
After taking down the defending champions, the challenge doesn’t get easier for Ateneo as it faces a La Salle team boasting the league’s most talented and deepest squad in years.
But it is in these types of victories that firms up Baldwin’s belief that he has a team that has what it takes to slay the most dominant squad in the league with the stakes at its highest.
“We really labored up to this point,” said Baldwin. “This is an incredibly young team and this is an incredibly special win. We take inspiration from this win.”
Both the Archers and Eagles picked up a win against each other in the series, but Baldwin expects the first championship meeting between the two schools since 2008 to get even more physical.
“We’re going to stand in front of them,” Baldwin said. “We’re not going to bow out of the way. We’re going to bloody them just like I’m sure they want to bloody us.”
The Eagles literally saw blood in the series with the Tamaraws.
The game hung in the balance when Go had to leave the clash after getting his nose bloodied by an inadvertent elbow from FEU’s Prince Orizu.
Baldwin can joke about the incident, but that play may have summed up the fight and resiliency of his young team.
“The blood was all fake,” Baldwin joked. “His nose wasn’t broken so he had to get back out there.”
“It was winning time,” said Go, who was serenaded with chants by the Ateneo gallery as he was getting treatment after the game. “I had to get back out there to help my team win,” added Go, who has lost about 20 pounds since preseason training started in April.
The frenetic finish saw the Eagles bungle a play to put away the Tamaraws for good. Raymar Jose picked up the rebound and found Monbert Arong, who picked out Dennison inside the paint.