Zav Lucero entered the court with only 0.7 remaining to take the technical free throw. He made it. It was his final shot in the UAAP.
Injured and all, Zav Lucero joined his team in the shootaround ahead of Game 3 of the UAAP men’s basketball finals between UP and Ateneo at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
There’s no doubt the Season 84 Mythical Five member was dying to play in the Fighting Maroons’ most important game of the season. But the left knee injury that he suffered in Game 2 prevented him from doing so. The injury is feared to be a tear, however, Lucero himself clarified that there's no exact diagnosis yet.
In a show of solidarity, the Fighting Maroons wore warm up shirts with “ZAV” emblazoned on the front and “Lucero No. 22” on the back.
Although it didn’t look like a championship game in the first half as UP trailed by a mile, the Fighting Maroons rallied behind their fallen comrade and made it a competition.
One of the comeback's highlights was when Harold Alarcon intentionally botched his third free throw, collared the rebound in the left corner, then launched a wild three-pointer to inch closer, 67-70, with 20.1 ticks remaining.
But time just wasn’t on UP’s side this time.
Lucero was allowed, though, to have his moment in the fourth period with the game already decided. With 0.7 left, Lucero entered the playing court to shoot a technical free throw. An appreciative crowd, both maroon and blue, cheered him on.
Lucero canned the technical free throw, before BJ Andrade shot 2 of his own on the other end to seal Ateneo’s dramatic Season 85 conquest.
It may not be the UAAP closing act he envisioned. But his career as a basketball player doesn’t end here — quite literally. Who knows, we may see him take his talents to Korea or Japan very soon.
But one thing is for sure: It will never be the same again for UP without the high-flying Lucero.