UP Fighting Maroons guard Terrence Fortea says it’s all about believing in himself as he cooked the Growling Tigers from rainbow country in round 2 of UAAP Season 87.
Terrence Fortea had a simple mantra for himself as he torched the net from beyond the arc in the UP Fighting Maroons’ 83-73 win over the UST Growling Tigers to begin round 2 in UAAP Season 87 on Sunday, October 13.
In a pivotal fourth quarter surge, Fortea drilled three triples for UP, including the dagger to reach the final score with 40 ticks left. Throughout the contest, Fortea looked like he couldn’t miss.
Whether it be from three or at the charity stripe, the third-year player hardly wavered in making his shots.
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His secret to making it count when it matters most? Pure confidence in what he can do.
‘“Actually wala naman automatic [shot] eh. 50-50 pa rin naman pag binitawan mo yung bola. At maaaring pumasok o hindi,” Fortea told One Sports.
“Pero for me, yung mentality ko naman is 100 percent yung confidence ko.”
It worked tremendously for Fortea, who has been a reliable shooter for the Goldwin Monteverde-mentored squad all season long. Going a highly-efficient 4-of-5 from beyond the arc against UST, it was a no-brainer to try and locate Fortea each time down the court.
For his teammates, it made sense to find an open Fortea when they had the chance — and the latter had no problems in repaying his teammates’ trust.
“Yung nga, sinabi ko nga kanina na kung ano naman kasi yung binigay ng defensa… hindi naman [namin] ipipilit yun. Yung mga teammates ko, hindi naman napipilit kung nakita nila ako [na bukas],” he said.
“So siguro, yung nga, [yung] tiwala ng teammates ko. So sobrang happy lang rin ako na nabubuo na kanina.”
Among the teammates that Fortea was happy to have back on Sunday night was JD Cagulangan, who missed two games for UP due to illness.
Though Cagulangan was still far from his first round form, Fortea said that it was already a big deal to have him happy and back in action. Still, he knows that it will only be a matter of time to get JD back to prime form.
“Actually, parang di naman wala si Maimai [Cagulangan] kasi kahit sa training andiyan yan, sinasabihan niya kami. Pero makita siya sa court ngayon na sobrang sa'ya,” said Fortea.
“Alam kong kakabalik niya lang pero alam ko sa sarili ko na babalik talaga ko na yung JD na kilala natin. Sa mga susunod na games,” he added.
UP gets a lengthy break before the Maroons see action again. They face the UE Red Warriors on Wednesday, October 23, at the Mall of Asia Arena.