MOMENTS AFTER the Ateneo Blue Eagles outlasted the Far Eastern University Tamaraws by a single point in overtime, the Blue and White side of the Araneta Coliseum, still on a high from the blissful exhilaration of witnessing their team advance to the finals, started chanting the name of the player who practically saved their season: Isaac Go.
Given the circumstances, it was easy to see why. Go ended the match with a huge double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, and held his own against the tough FEU frontline of Prince Orizu and Raymar Jose. He also scored the go-ahead bucket with about a minute left in the game off a Matt Nieto miss that proved to be the match-deciding shot. The fact that he was in the court at that time was remarkable, as Orizu sent an inadvertent elbow to his face minutes that got him bleeding.
Despite the blood gushing out of his nose, he was determined to get back on the court. “There is no point in getting out of the game. You have to set that all aside. If the game is on the line, you have to play,” Go explained. “It was winning time.”
Go also downplayed the incident, saying that he overreacted with the blood coming out. Blue Eagles Coach Tab Baldwin agreed with this sentiment, playfully telling reporters that the blood was fake. But Baldwin said that the decision for him to play was not his.
“The players make those decisions,” Baldwin said. “When I went over to Isaac, I said, ‘Is it broken?’ and the doctor said it’s not. So I told Isaac, ‘Get back out there.’”
With this season only being his second year in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) line-up, Go did what he was told, and got back on the court, becoming a hero for Ateneo in the process.
The journey for the former Xavier School stalwart is a notable one, from being sidelined due to a shoulder injury in his freshman year, to barely playing in his first year in the UAAP, and now being the catalyst that sent the Blue Eagles to the finals for the first time in four years. He was the biggest surprise to the Ateneo community, as he was barely mentioned as a key player coming into the season.
Coach Tab Baldwin recalled his experience when he joined the Blue Eagles, and he asked who were the team’s notable big men. Team captain Gboy Babilonia and Nigerian center Chibueze Ikeh were the names mentioned. Nobody said anything about Go.
“I said, ‘What about the big fat kid over there?’” Baldwin recounted, referring to Go. “They said ‘Well, he can do some things, but he really doesn’t have much experience and didn’t play much last year.’”
As soon as Baldwin saw Go play, he saw something in him. The skillset, intelligence, and confidence were all there. What Go needed to work on was his physique. Baldwin went up to Go and told him that he was not going to eat rice anymore. Go’s reply to Baldwin was a bit humorous, to say the least.
“He [told me], ‘But my mom will get upset with me if I don’t eat rice,’” Baldwin narrated. “And I said, ‘I am already upset with you for telling me that.’”
The coaching staff started to work on his mind and body, and it showed on the court. As the season progressed, he started to become a more prominent fixture in the rotation, increasing his minutes, scoring, and rebounding outputs in each passing game. An Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury to Babilonia catapulted Go to a starting spot in the team, and he has filled the void left by the Blue Eagles’ captain and defensive anchor well.
However, while things are not expected to get any easier for Go, especially when he goes against the mammoth De La Salle University Green Archers in the upcoming finals, he has shown that he is ready. Expectations and pressure will inevitability rise, as he starts to show up more on the court. But the Isaac Go we’ve seen this season is more than capable of handling all of this.
“He has shown everything I like in a basketball player,” Baldwin said. He has shown intelligence, he has shown heart, he has shown intensity and now, he has shown some pretty good toughness. This is what great players are made of.”
It remains to be seen how great a player he will be over the next few years. Given the long lineage of great big men that have donned the Blue and White in years past, it is hard not ponder if he is next in line. As Coach Baldwin said though, it is important to not get ahead of ourselves, and focus on the war that he, along with team, will face in the finals against their archrivals.
But one thing is certain: the Isaac Go has arrived now.
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