When Roi Sumang rose from 30 feet away to take that
ill-advised three-point shot (over Ray Parks no less), I screamed an expletive.
How could this guy be so damn cocky?! How could he
choose to shoot from that far against the reigning MVP? What head was he using
anyway?!
And then the ball went through the hoop and tickled
the twine.
Pandemonium.
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| Roi Sumang was the undisputed hero of UE's first Season 76 victory. (image from FullCourtFresh.com) |
Sumang just starred in what will definitely go down
as one of the most memorable plays of Season 76. He cemented his name as one of
the ballsiest (apparently, that IS a word!) guys on the planet. Of course, he
could have just as easily been one of the dumbest, but, hey, he made the shot,
and in these parts that’s what counts the most.
I want to call him UE’s Iceman. I want to call him
the crimson version of Terrence Romeo. I want to call him Super Sumang (or
Sumang latik? No?).
But right now the one with the nicest ring to it is
the Recto Revolver.
By draining that trifecta (and the ensuing free throw
to complete a four-point play), Sumang led all scorers with 19 points on top of
6 rebounds and 2 assists. He didn’t shoot particularly well for the entire game
(just under 39%), but he made the biggest bucket of them all and, again, that’s
what people will remember.
As for NU, well, they were leading for most of the
second half, but they squandered it. I wouldn’t say they were firmly in
control, but they definitely had the better chance to win going into the waning
minutes. The Bulldogs, however, just couldn’t clamp down on wingmen JM Noble,
Ralf Olivares, and Sumang, all of whom combined for the last 14 points of UE.
About a week before the game I asked coach Eric
Altamirano of NU, after beating Ateneo to open NU’s Season 76 campaign, what he
thought they needed to do to avenge their Filoil Finals loss to UE in their
next match.
He said, “We have to contain Roi Sumang. He gave us
problems in our last game.”
Too bad whatever they had planned to do just didn’t
work.
Come to think of it, though, against guys like Sumang
– guys who are too devil-may-care to follow basketball conventions like NOT
shooting from 30 feet away – even the most well-conceived defensive plan can
backfire. The Recto Revolver is just too unpredictable, too furious, to be
tamed.
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| Ralf Olivares drives strong against the NU defense. |
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| Ray Parks struggled against the aggressive Red Warriors. |
UE RED
WARRIORS over NU BULLDOGS, 71-67
UE 71 – Sumang 19, Mammie 15, Jumao-as 11, Olivares 9, Santos
6, Javier 4, Noble 3, Sumido 2, Casajeros 2, Hernandez 0, Guion 0, Galanza 0,
Flores 0
NU 67 – Mbe 18, Parks 11, Khobuntin 8, Javillonar 8,
Alejandro 8, Alolino 7, Rosario 4, Villamor 3, Roño 0, Neypes 0, De Guzman 0
QS: 12-18,
32-31, 55-52, 71-67
Key
Performances:
Roi Sumang (UE) – 19pts, 6rebs, 2asts
Charles Mammie (UE) – 15pts, 20rebs, 3asts, 3stls
Emmanuel Mbe (NU) – 18pts, 11rebs, 2stls, 1blk
Here is Sumang's surreal game-winner:
Here is Sumang's surreal game-winner:
Unless otherwise specified, all images by Jan
Dizon/Inboundpass.com.
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