La Salle big man Mike Phillips plays inspired basketball after the death of a good friend on campus.
DLSU big man Mike Phillips was visibly emotional as he dedicated his double-double performance against the UST Growling Tigers to a late friend from the La Salle campus who passed away earlier this week.
Phillips, who worked hard on rebounding to finish with a 12-point, 18-rebound outing, couldn’t keep his emotions in check as he spoke about La Salle dorm guard Doleo Susalta – one of his closest friends here in Manila.
Susalta passed away some nights ago and Phillips made sure to play his heart out for his good friend.
[Related: Mike Phillips drops double-double in DLSU win]
“His job was to be a guard there. But he always did so much and a lot of times, he did a lot of night duty and he was just doing the extra effort for us to make sure we’re taken care of, more than just keeping us safe,” said Phillips who couldn’t hold the tears from flowing down his eyes.
“He would always check in on us and I would talk to him for hours at night and he would teach me Ilongo and he would say how to swear and everything… I don’t know… He was healthy. But he was one of my closest friends. I met him here ever since I first came here in the Philippines. Yeah, he’s one of my closest people,” Phillips added.
The La Salle forward has been open about his deep faith throughout the season, as evidenced by the phrase “God did” on his arm sleeves during the games.
According to Mike, it was also something that he shared with Susalta.
“[He was a] very big [motivation]. Because when I was really in a dark place before, I don’t know why. God just kind of brought us together and he was always open, you know, something about it — he has to stay awake the whole night and constantly checking and making sure everybody’s safe and he would always never turn a blind eye to me and never turned his back to me,” the La Salle star recalled.
“He would always listen to anything I had to say and I learned so much from him, about what it means to be a Christian here and he really taught me a lot. He’s so open, about his family, his wife, his two kids, and they just recently started college in UP. So, he’s just someone that meant a lot to me,” he added.
Heading into the game against UST, Phillips said that he encountered a beautiful scene that he believed came from Susalta to remind him of what they shared.
“Last night, I was just in a dark place and I saw the most beautiful sunset after training. I knew it was him. So if you guys have any spare time, please pray for his family. I was playing for him tonight,” Phillips said.
“He was someone who really meant a lot to me. He taught me Ilonggo. If you're listening to this, my friend, I love you, and I hope to see you soon, and I will take care of your family,” he added.
Phillips and the rest of La Salle will hope to continue to win in Susalta’s memory as their title retention bid continues.
The defending champions face the UP Fighting Maroons next in a Finals rematch to end the first round on Sunday, October 6.