animo la salle

standing way up in the upper box, surrounded by a sea of green, it might have seemed weird to see me, a girl who has never been in the la salle system, cheering along with the crowd. while the players were warming up, and while the pep squad was warming up the crowd as well, the cheers were a bit alien to me. however, by halftime, with the score tied at 32, i could not help but join the frenzy. after all, mac cardona, from the sidelines, was raising both hands as if to say, "keep the cheers coming!"

it was my first time to watch a big basketball game live. pat, after having watched game 1 and after la salle lost at game 2, promised me that we'd watch game 3. i was excited. very. not even the thought of having to sit (actually, stand) way up in upper box b derailed my resolve to be there to cheer my dear mac cardona on.

by first quarter, i knew i got lucky. while i would have wanted my team to be the runaway winner, feu challenged my faith in the archers. every so often, they'd catch up, even take the lead. and even though la salle had a 10 point lead coming into the 4th quarter, it was not long before the feu crowd was back into a cheering frenzy: la salle was down by 2 in the last minute and a half of the game.

everything that happened after that was pure serendipity. casio sunk a 3-pointer and miranda's shot -- in slow motion -- circled the ring once, twice, and inexplicably, tumbled out of the basket. cardona got the rebound, sunk in 2 free throws, and unless the entire green and gold crowd was praying to st. jude at that time, they had no chance in earth to win.

it was the absolute best game ever, and the la sallians were amazing. whether the archers were winning or not, the crowd cheered like there was no tomorrow. even those with seats hardly sat down the entire game. it was one cheer after the other. on the other hand, the feu crowd would be quiet when their team was losing, and would resurrect only after santos sinks in another shot that puts them in the lead. UP snob-ness notwithstanding, i was actually proud to be in the green and white corner, waving my green and white pompoms, shouting D-L-S-U animo la salle! the entire time.

and oh, mac cardona, you're my MVP.
(incidentally, ang puti mo pala!)