Photo from ASEAN Basketball League
STA. ROSA — Paul Zamar admitted it wasn’t easy draining the crucial freethrows which gave Mono Vampire the 103-100 victory over San Miguel Alab Pilipinas in Game 2 of the 2018 ASEAN Basketball League Finals.
“I had mixed emotions, especially playing against your fellow countrymen. You have to throw away all those emotions,” he said. “Of course, I still have a job to do. It’s basketball.
Zamar went perfect from the foul line with 15.4 seconds remaining and gave the Thai side the three-point lead en route to Mono Vampire’s first win against the Filipino team this season.
Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex brought back a lot of memories from Zamar’s collegiate days in University of the East, where he was also tested in pressure-packed possessions.
“It felt like playing in the UAAP again with that kind of crowd,” said the 29-year-old guard. “This is one of the games I relish because I’ve failed in those before, and I wanted to redeem myself.”
Zamar had the full confidence of his team, and he didn’t disappoint after capping off 12 point-effort, which went with four assists, and three rebounds, with the game-winning freebies.
“Coach Douglas Marty, Jason (Brickman), Mike (Singletary), everybody trusts me in those kind of moments.”
What made it even more special for Zamar was finally winning one in front of the Filipino fans, even though they were cheering for the other team.
“It’s a great feeling to finally win a game against the Philippines,” he said. “It’s always tough playing in the Philippines and against my fellow countrymen because they cheer so hard. But we focused in the game, we focused on our gameplan, and we executed very well on offense.”
Mono Vampire and San Miguel Alab Pilipinas break the tie when the Finals series goes to Bangkok for Game 3 on Saturday at Stadium 29.