By: Carl Argarin
Photo by Abegail Granado/The LANCE.
Letran Knights’ point guard JP Calvo has played his final game as a Letran Knight and it didn’t go the way he wanted it to.
Calvo went down in the initial part of the third quarter after Lyceum’s Mike Nzeusseu accidentally fell on his left ankle. The pint-sized guard wanted to keep playing despite the injury. However, Letran head coach Jeff Napa does not want to aggravate his star point guard’s injury.
The Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates then capitalized on the absence of the Letran Knights’ floor general causing them to commit turnover after turnover and pushing their lead to 14 after a 15-0 run, 70-56.
For Napa, Calvo’s injury was the turning point of the match, as there were no other player who could replicate Calvo’s contributions to the team.
“Kasi I think lamang kami ng isa nung nangyari yung aksidenteng ‘yun, so nakuha na ng mga bata yung kumpiyansa, yung run, ‘yung momentum na hinahanap namin eh.”
Napa strongly believes that if Calvo didn’t get injured, the outcome would be very much different.
“Mabigat kasi yung pag ka down ni Toto [Calvo] dun kami nagkaron ng problema e, yun yung naging story of the game e - we lost our point guard,” he said.
“Ayaw naman namin i-abrupt yung career ni JP” He stated “Ayokong sirain yung career nya na yan, magiging malaki pa yung career ni JP sa PBA,” he added.
Still, Napa commended Calvo’scontribution to the team for the three years that they worked together and believes that he is the best point guard in the college basketball scene today, “Number one point guard, siya yung pinaka magaling sa NCAA, actually siya yung pinaka magaling na point guard ngayon e, kahit sa UAAP.”