UST’s Llemit rues going for 2-pointer instead of trey in dying seconds of close loss vs FEU

UST’s Mark Llemit (14) shoots a layup in the dying seconds of the Tigers’ close loss against the FEU Tamaraws on Wednesday.

(UAAP Media Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — University of Santo Tomas’ Mark Llemit admitted feeling regret after making a late layup while being down three points against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Wednesday.

The Tigers trailed by as much as 20 points in the fourth quarter, but slowly sliced the lead away.

With FEU holding on to a 3-point advantage, 77-80, with 9.7 seconds left, UST stole the inbounds and Gelo Crisostomo pushed the ball to Llemit.

Llemit, who received the ball inside the arc, went hard to the basket and completed a tough reverse layup that made it a one point game, 79-80, with 2.4 seconds remaining.

On the other end, FEU’s Jorick Bautista was fouled with 1.4 seconds to go. He made his first one and missed the second, and UST had to heave up a Hail Mary as time expired.

After the game, Llemit said that he thought of fishing for a foul on the layup.

“Parang naano lang ako. Parang wala sa mindset ko na yun nga. Kasi yung na-set up ko, yung mindset ko, go hard eh. Kasi inisip ko noon, baka makakuha ko ng foul. Kaya gino-hard ko sa basket,” he told reporters.

“Kaya, yun nga, pagtingin ko, 'di tinawagan. Nanghinayang ako,” he added.

He admitted that he thought the contact he had with Neil Owens was enough for the whistle.

“Kasi patakbo ako eh. So, akala ko, pagbanga ako kay [Owens,] akala ko may contact eh. Akala ko maka-counted. Kaya yun, di tinawagan. Pagtingin ko noon, ayun,” he said.

“Nanghinayang ako. Dapat three points lang yung tinira ko.”

It was Llemit’s only field goal make of the game. He shot 1-of-4 from the field in 23 minutes.

But while the Tigers fell just short of the victory, they showed grit as they trailed by as much as 23 points in the contest.

“Ayun nga, sayang lang kasi, kinapos sa huli. Sobrang thankful din namin na, yung diba, first half tambak kami. Kasi ang gulo ng first half namin eh. So, yun nga, second half namin, nag-usap-usap kami. Anong mga lapses namin, kaya yun, nakabawi kami sa second half,” Llemit continued.

“Sayang lang yung sa huli, kinapos lang talaga.”

Still, the loss would not affect the Tigers standings-wise, as they already punched a ticket to the Final Four, where they will take on defending champion University of the Philippines.

But UST opened a window of opportunity for the Tamaraws, who need a win by the Ateneo Blue Eagles against the La Salle Green Archers to trigger a stepladder playoff for the fourth spot.

“Siyempre, UP naman, alam naman natin eh, magaling lahat ng player nila e. So, yun sa amin, focus na kami. Kung ano yung mga… panoorin namin yung mga video na last game namin sa kanila. So, pag-aralan namin kung ano talaga yung kulang namin,” Llemit said.

“Sa akin lang, siguro yung ano namin, teamwork lang talaga na kailangan namin. Share lang namin yung bola namin, tiwala sa mga isa't isa.”