Welcome, Matt

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

A spread of mobile phones awaited Matt Nieto. Each one all set to record his thoughts on the most important nine seconds of his UAAP basketball career—Was he nervous? Confident? Pressured?

It didn’t take long before the Ateneo point guard wove his way through a crowd of sportswriters to take his place in a packed press room—and under the spotlight.

“I was just relaxed,” Nieto said as reporters listened to his play-by-play retelling of Ateneo’s heart-stopping endgame that resulted to a win over rival La Salle and sealed the Blue Eagles’ perfect first-round campaign.

It was a sight no one could have predicted, especially since not too long ago, Nieto was pretty much overlooked.

In the summer of 2015, Ateneo got a lot of hype with the coming debut of two former high school stars: point guards Jerie Pingoy and Hubert Cani.

Pingoy, a two-time UAAP juniors Most Valuable Player from Far Eastern University, created so much stir when he transferred to Ateneo in 2012. The move led to a two-year residency requirement so controversial that it prompted a Senate inquiry.

Cani, who played for the Philippine youth team just like Pingoy, also won UAAP juniors Finals MVP after powering National University to a 16-0 season sweep in 2013.

Lost in the din of their unveiling was Nieto, who was a mere afterthought to his twin brother Mike, a hulking forward who also won MVP honors with the Ateneo juniors team.

But three seasons later, Nieto’s celebrated batchmates failed to find their groove with the Blue Eagles and have opted to reboot their collegiate careers elsewhere—Pingoy with Adamson and Cani with FEU. And it was Ateneo’s once underrated 6-foot-1 guard who wound up holding court as the Blue Eagles’ chief playmaker.

Since then, cameras have lingered on Nieto. And even more so in last Sunday’s Ateneo-La Salle blockbuster game where over 14,000 fans waited with bated breath if the third-year talent would sink two crucial free throws.

La Salle held a 75-74 lead and all the Archers had to do was hang on to that ball in the last nine seconds. But going by past showdowns between the legendary rivals, the unexpected often happens. And it did, with Nieto right in the middle of it all.

In those dying seconds, Nieto picked off Kib Montalbo’s inbound pass, deflected it towards his teammate Gian Mamuyac, then recovered possession. He got fouled by Montalbo with 3.9 seconds left, which led him to that pressure-packed moment at the free throw line.

“We’re always practicing our free throws, every day,” said Nieto. “It’s the same routine. So I shot it like it’s just the same routine. Luckily, my free throw practices paid off.”

Those shots snatched the win for Ateneo, 76-75, as La Salle bungled its last-gasp attempt. And the Blue Eagles walked away with a perfect 7-0 record at the end of the first round.

“I won’t let it go to my head,” said Nieto. “If there’s another opportunity like that, I’ll just follow coach Tab (Baldwin) because he knows best.”

“We were lucky in the last play,” the 19-year-old added. “We followed coach Tab’s defensive scheme, and luckily, it turned out to be a successful scheme. No one wanted to lose.”

It’s that kind of discipline that has defined this batch of Blue Eagles. It’s that kind of discipline that has allowed not only Nieto, but also other unheralded players like Mamuyac, Anton Asistio, Jolo Mendoza, Raffy Verano, Isaac Go and rookie Tyler Tio to earn their shining moments.

“We’d like to think about how we can develop our players the best way we can,” said Ateneo deputy Sandy Arespacochaga. “We’d like to teach them not only skills individually, but also mental toughness, composure, character.”

“The key is to improving each game,” he added. “To a certain extent, we did that.”

And what does Nieto think? “I’m just doing my job,” he points out. “I’m just finding open lanes, looking for my teammates. If I get to shoot, it’s a bonus. Basically, I’m just doing my job as a point guard and leader of the team.”

It’s a role that Nieto has embraced. Even the postgame talks—which has started to become commonplace. Fittingly, too, because Nieto has finally become part of the conversation.