Veteran moves

When push comes to shove, where else will defending champion University of the Philippines (UP) go but to its graduating senior, Harold Alarcon.

Forged into steel by years of experience, hitting crucial shots and playing clutch with ice in his veins is just second nature to the grizzled veteran.

Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde could never go wrong when leaving the fate of the team in the hands of Alarcon during crunch time.

Calm and composed in a nip-and-tuck closing stretch, he racked UP’s last eight points, punctuated by the game-winning jumper with 24.3 seconds left, in a close-shaved 89-88 escape over University of Santo Tomas in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

After a quiet six points in the first half, Alarcon scored 10 of his 22 points in the payoff period to will the Fighting Maroons back from a 15-point deficit for their satisfying revenge win over their first-round tormentor.

Down by a point with half a minute left, Alarcon hit a cold-blooded turnaround jump shot over Tigers defender Mark Llemit for the go-ahead basket.

“In my five years in college, I guess it’s just experience kicking in,” said Alarcon, who shot 9-of-18 from the field.

“All throughout my career, I have gained a lot of experience in the UAAP.”

Alarcon added that experience has taught him to be patient and stay focused amid tremendous pressure.

“That composure during clutch moments, if you’ve already experienced it, you would feel it coming. You won’t feel the pressure, and you won’t rush things. You’d see yourself in the present moment and everything will be in slow motion,” the two-time UAAP champion said.

Indeed, Alarcon was in the zone.

“In our team, we’ll always go to whoever is hot. Read the situation, feel the heat of the moment, to know where the ball should go to,” he said.

UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde couldn’t be prouder seeing his team’s response following a long talk at the dugout during the halftime break.

“Of course, if you have a player like that it is a big relief for you and the team. Seeing the team being able to respond, may it be Harold or any of his teammates, as a coach, I’m happy to see that,” Monteverde said.

“Happy seeing them face the challenge in front of them and being able to overcome that amid pressure in those situations.”

The Fighting Maroons recovered from a 21-36 deficit in the first half to complete the comeback and remain in solo second with a 7-3 win-loss record behind league-leading National University (8-2).

“Coach Gold talked to me inside the dugout. We were off in the first half, so we adjusted heading into the second half. In the fourth quarter, I just worked with whatever defense was given to me,” Alarcon said.

With the Final Four race and the coveted twice-to-beat advantage chase getting tighter, playing tough games and actually emerging on top is actually a luxury for UP.

“As coach Gold said, this experience will prepare us for future games. So that when we encounter the same close games or crucial games, we’ll know what to do,” Alarcon said.