WITH their season on the line after losing Game One of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) finals, veteran forward Monic Soliva was adamant in not letting their season end, not on that note, not without a great fight and not without giving it his all.
The one-time Mythical Five member delivered, especially in the fourth period when he scored six points in the telling fourth period run that buried the Southwestern University-Phinma Cobras to send the best-of-three finals series to a deciding game on Friday evening, November 22, 2019.
In an exclusive talk with SunStar Cebu immediately after the game, Soliva revealed that he had a secret weapon for Game Two: his wife, Angel and their son, Ares, who drove all the way from Canlaon to Cebu to witness his game.
“It was a huge factor because they are the ones who give me inspiration each and every day,” said the 6-foot-4 forward.
While he did end up with 12 points, Soliva was quick to point out that every one gave their all in Game Two, which was the reason they won.
“We really went all out. We left it all out on the floor,” said Soliva who made a return to the team this year after sitting out the last two seasons. “Besides, we have a very deep bench so we can’t worry about conserving our energy.”
With Game Three set to tip off at 6 p.m. on Friday, leaving the rest of the finals protagonists with very little time to rest, Soliva said it would all boil down to who wants this championship more.
“It will come down to defense and effort, and who really wants to win this title.”