In July last year, the Philippine basketball world was shaken with one of the biggest and most controversial, transfers in college hoops’ recent history.
Mason Amos, who was a bright spot for Ateneo in his rookie season, flew out of the Eagles’ nest and landed on Taft Avenue to join the La Salle Green Archers.
Now, 15 months later, Amos played against his former team in a very emotional UAAP Season 88 contest Sunday, where the 6-foot-7 stretch forward was booed by the Blue Eagle crowd even before the game started.
Ateneo led by as much as 33 points before keeping La Salle’s furious rally in check to grab a 81-74 victory and remain unscathed in the tournament.
There, Amos struggled, scoring just six points while hauling down two rebounds and dishing out two assists in 25 minutes and 47 seconds of play.
After the game, Amos acknowledged that he had a bad game, but it had nothing to do with the hecklers from the crowd.
‘I mean, there’s really nothing to comment about it. You know, that’s how they feel. And I mean, that’s gonna be how they feel for the rest of the season. And I mean, I’m just gonna keep moving forward,’ he said.
Asked if he was rattled by the jeers from the crowd, he answered in the negative.
‘No, I’m good. I’m good. I mean, I had a bad game, but we all have bad games. And I’m just gonna keep improving from here,’ he stated.
‘I mean, just trying to be mentally tough. You know, just being there for my teammates because my team needs me also. So, I mean, just being myself and being true to myself.’
La Salle was suffocated by Ateneo’s tight defense, staring at at a 30-point disadvantage heading into the fourth quarter.
But the Green Archers erupted with a 22-0 run to chip the lead away.
However, the comeback attempt came a little too late as the closest La Salle got to was within five points with less than a minute remaining.
‘I’m just gonna be straight honest. We really played really bad. And it’s a bit obvious, you know, you guys saw what happened in the first half. Time wasn’t on our side even though we made a big run. But we can’t keep relying on that stuff to happen,’ Amos said.
‘And we take full responsibility for this, not the coaches, the players. We didn’t play how we usually play. And there’s no excuse for this game.’
Now at 2-2, La Salle will try to return to the win column as it takes on National University next Sunday at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Manila.