During the postgame interview on November 25 at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City, Assistant Coach Juan Miguel Martin of Jose Rizal University admitted that it was the first time he saw Head Coach Nani Epondulan that mad during their halftime huddle.
Incredible Hulk’s Rage = Players Responding in the 2nd Half
Entering the dugout at the halftime, the JRU Heavy Bombers were only down by 4 points against the Emilio Aguinaldo College, 42 to 38, as they compete in the Play-In tournament of the NCAA Season 101 Men’s basketball
Rebanse noticed that the team exited the dugout very late, to the point that the players of the Heavy Bombers didn’t have time to warm up during the halftime break.
The reason? Head Coach Nani Epondulan was so mad at his squad that Assistant Coach Juan Miguel Martin thought he saw the Incredible Hulk in their locker room.
During the postgame interview, he was all smiles and giggling as he told the media he won’t go full on details with what was discussed at their halftime huddle.
“Sigurado ba kayo gusto ninyo malaman yung nasabi sa Halftime? Kase ako first time ko makita si Coach Nani na ganun eh. Siguro doon nalang tayo mag base na yun yung first time ko makita, parang nakita ko si Incredible Hulk eh to be honest.”
He then cleared things up that the reason why Coach Nani was that furious to his team, its because he views his players like his children while the players view him as their father.
That “tough love from a parent” was needed in order to wake his team up and Coach Martin was happy that their players responded to the call in the 2nd half.
“Pero nag response naman [yung mga] bata. Kase nga sabi ko, tatay nila yan eh. Sabi ko, kung anong sasabihin niyan, tayo usually kaya lang naman tayo pinagsasabihan dahil may ginagawa tayong mali eh. Ganun lang yung naging trato ni Coach Nani sa mga anak niya. And sabi ko nga, pag labas namin ng 2nd Half, iba na yun eh. Iba na yung itsura ng mga bata, nawala na yung tightness nila sa game..nagalit eh.”
To end the game, JRU was able to indeed turn things around to penultimately get the 80 – 76 win against the EAC Generals.
Funny how a 4 point difference can shift the mood of a person and a team.
Though in the statistical sheet at the end of the game, the Heavy Bombers were outrebounded by the Generals 51 – 44. But they were bounced back with their Points Off Turnovers (19 – 9), Assists (21 – 13), Steals (6 -1) and Blocks (10 – 5).
Cramps Became More of a Blessing Than an Issue
Another thing that Rebanse noticed is that in the final moments and seconds of the 4th quarter, JRU’s star player Shawn Argente was subbed out of the game as he limped towards the bench.
When asked about this matter, Assistant Coach Martin just said that it was just cramps and that this became a good thing for them as they were able to use different substitution patterns.
“Nag cramps siya nun eh, noong end game na. Kaya luckily nag ano nga, naging situational, substitution, nagkakaroon ng dead ball, papalit kami. Nagkaroon kami ng- naging break para sa amin yung ganun para malabas pasok namin siya [Shawn Argente] and hindi siya mapagod doon sa end game.”
When asked if the team is fully healthy come their quarterfinals match against the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA on Thursday at the Mall of Asia Arena, Assistant Coach Martin said everyone’s cleared to go and that the only person they were a little hesitant to play big minutes in this game was the Best Player of the Match, Justin Lozano as he missed some games.
“I think fully healthy naman kami. Si Justin lang talaga yung medyo nagkaroon ng problema lately and then hinabol namin yung conditioning niya. Then honestly hindi namin ineexpect yung ipeperform niya ngayon eh pero sabi ko nga kapag pinagpawisan tong bata, iba na eh.”
He then poked fun again at how Coach Nani’s rage helped Lozano perform better in the 2nd half.
“Saka kapag narinig niya galit ni Coach Nani, iba na rin yung nilalaro niya eh.”
The 21 year old 2nd year college player ended the game with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal, 2 blocks and an incredible shooting splits from the free throw line going 8 for 11.
