Isaac Go: Call entire Ateneo team 'clutch'

MANILA, Philippines — George Isaac Go has been so reliable for Ateneo de Manila University in late-game situations that he should rightfully be called “clutch.”

But the Blue Eagle said he likes it better if we call the whole squad as such.

In Sunday night’s cardiac affair for the UAAP men’s basketball tournament championship, Go hit a trey that provided separation from the rallying defending champion De La Salle University.

“Without the execution of the coaching staff, without their brains, and without the recognition of my teammates — I got a pass from Thirdy (Ravena) twice, I got a pass from Matt once —without them, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to take the shot in the first place,” Go told the press.

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“So if you call me ‘clutch,’ it's better to say that the team is clutch,” he added with a smile.

True enough, had it not been for Matt Nieto, the Blue Eagles wouldn’t have survived the pesky Far Eastern University in the Final Four. Had it not been for Ravena’s pass, Go wouldn’t have had a clean look in Finals’ Game Three.

Go, as the adage goes, had been in “the right place at the right time.” In the past three games of the Blue Eagles, Go made up for a heartbreaking miss against their rivals.

He sank a triple to send the Eagles-Tamaraws semis clash into overtime, he then went on to convert an undergoal stab almost seated. The center also converted the final and-one play in Game One of the Finals.

And finally, “the shot.”

But that’s not to take credit away from him. Being a center in a squad loaded of pure shooters — in Nieto, in Jolo Mendoza, to name some — Go was one who had confidence in his own shot. Leaving his shooting hand raised for a couple of moments is a big proof of that.

“When I released the ball, I just let it fly,” he shared. “That shot is the combination of years of practice and exercise and reps. So sometimes one play, one pass by Thirdy, you have to see it as culmination of what he's worked on throughout the years.”

“And that shot [was] maybe the culmination of (all that work),” he noted.

And while he credits hard work, Go made it clear that divine intervention, had a hand in it as well.

“I hit one today... Actually, it's the feast of St. Francis Xavier, so maybe he had a hand in it,” he said.

The shot — which sealed the deal for the Blue Eagles — gave the Ateneo its ninth seniors division title, ending a five-year drought and avenging a foiled bid to reign supreme last year.