UP's Galinato gets pass after botched dunk try vs Ateneo
MANILA, Philippines – UP assistant head coach Christian Luanzon has no intention of pointing fingers after the Fighting Maroons fell short in Game Two of the UAAP Finals against Ateneo, 65-55, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
As the Maroons were staging a comeback from 15 points down in the fourth salvo, Maroons big man Henry Galinato missed a wide open dunk in what would've been a fast-break opportunity to cut the deficit down to seven points with 4:13 left in the game.
Even as the sorry miss looked to stifle any momentum that the Maroons had in trying pull the rug from under Ateneo, Luanzon said that there was much more to the result of the game than that one play.
"I don't think so," Luanzon said on whether Galinato's miss was a bigger play than others.
"Even if that happened let's say on a last shot, you know, there's so many things in a basketball game that builds up to the result and I think it's unfair to any player to point to just one moment in a game. Obviously, if he made that, that would've been big. I think it would've cut the lead down to seven, momentum slowly building on our side. But you have to ask the question also, paano dumating dun sa sitwasyon na ganun? ‘Di ba?" he added.
Instead, Luanzon shifted the attention to how the coaching staff can prepare the teams in Game Three. With UP and Ateneo taking turns in having great starts in their respective victories, Luanzon says it'll be crucial to get off on the right foot in the decider.
"So what's really crucial, obviously, coaches always say that walang nanalo sa first half but the first half always has, you know, a big impact on how the result of the game will be and how the second half would turn out," said Luanzon.
"So far, it's been a first half series. So that's key for both teams." he added.
Game Three of the UAAP Season 85 finals tips off on Monday, December 19, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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