Winning Moment

Playing in a game is a challenge. Much more, winning it. And above all leading a team to a win is the hardest. No one wants to lose, people hate losers and love winners. It's a joy to win, but its easier said than done.Winning involves a lot of sacrifice. It was a challenge to me to a coach the women's basketball team of our college for our intramural. I also coached the men's basketball team of our college last year and we finished a satisfying 3rd place last year. Satisfying because considering the opposition we were able to battle tooth and nail and though we lost we were not blown out. It was hard at first, instead of coaching, I was teaching basketball fundamentals! Great isn't it. With limited time to prepare I tried to focus with the task at hand. I know I have the material and I believe that they have the talent. What is more important still is to come up with players who are willing to play as a team. I started to embed some confidence in them. Inculcating the value of confidence in themselves and in their teammates. Slowly we jelled together cracking jokes and making fun of each other. These bonding moments helped a lot in making the team as cohesive as possible.

And then the games.

We felt superior after winning our first game against DCS to the tune of 67-9. It was a blowout and it helped build confidence among us.

In our second game against DOE, we faced a team who relies in just one or two players. The challenge to us is their physical game. My players play like girls, theirs play contrary to their nature, their star players that is. The lad even started talking thrash to my players after an elbow. In the end, a team always play better as compared to a one "man" team. We won by five, 26-21 after the lad bled for her points. Defense won it for us.

The third and final game of the elimination is crucial for all of us. Winning the game would mean automatically entering in the championship match. Losing would make things complicated. The standings of all three teams (DOE, CITHM and CAS) would be 2-1 (W-L) if we lose the game (DOE is expected to win the againts DCS in the second game). We lost to CITHM by a hair line 31-30.

The lost brought us back to earth. We realized that we're not invincible.

We learned afterwards that due to our superior quotient, we our secured of our finals seat. The opponent would be CITHM, the same opponent who beat us by 1 point.

Tayag, their number 12 player killed us in that game. No one boxes her out and that proved to be our doom. So we tried to remedy the problem. But instead, another problem arose, my center Jimenez never played due to miscommunication of the schedule of the game.

The game was relatively easy in the beginning. We were breezing through them and led by as much as 14 points (28-14). But costly turn overs brought the lead down little by little. Till they eventually grabbed the lead at 38-37. They scored another basket increasing the lead to three with less than a minute to go. Anne Jelli Encabo answered with a booming triple tying the score to 40. Series of turn over followed. With 9 seconds left in the game the ball is on our side. A drive by Joyce Tagalog drew a foul from the opposing player with 2 seconds left.. 2 pressure packed free throws is about to come. Making one would at least provide a breather, making two would be a lot safer. Tagalog threw the ball in the air.. it bounces to the cylinder.. before going in! the crowd roars and cheers coming from the CAS students followed another one is about to come! It was a miss. A scramble for the rebound followed until the clock finally expires!

Game one is over! and we won by a solitary point! sweet revenge!