When Heartbreak Becomes Ammo: Jamal Diaz Refuses to Fold

Starting 0-3 in the tough “Group of Death” can easily hurt any young team, but the Mapúa Cardinals didn’t let those close losses break them down.

Their first three games were all tough pills to swallow. They opened the season losing to JRU on a game-winner from Sean Salvador. In the next game, they took a painful one-point loss against Lyceum after Lance Aurigue took over in the fourth quarter. Then came another close loss against Benilde, leaving Mapúa winless despite fighting until the very end.

“Nakaka-stress pala talaga ‘tong group of death na ‘to. We’re 0-3. So, all we need to do is to bounce back. And that’s the word kanina sa pre-game: bounce back,” Mapúa head coach Chito Victolero said.

Three painful losses set the stage for Mapúa

Facing the defending champion San Beda Red Lions in their fourth game, it looked like another heartbreak was waiting to happen. The Cardinals were down 54-49 with only 1:25 left on the clock.

That’s when rookie Jamal Diaz took over.

Without any fear, the freshman guard stepped up and hit back-to-back clutch three-pointers as the shot clock ran down to push Mapúa ahead and pull off the huge upset, 55-54. Diaz finished with eight points, with six coming from those cold-blooded shots in the final minutes.

Jamal Diaz turns heartbreak into confidence

For Diaz, the pain from their 0-3 start gave him the confidence to take those big shots.

“Iniisip ko lang din ‘yung dalawang laro namin nung JRU pati LPU, kasi sobrang sakit po nung pagkatalo namin do’n,” Diaz said. 

“Siyempre gusto’ng-gusto po namin umangat ulit ‘yung kompiyansa namin, kaya naglakas-loob lang din po akong tumira no’n. Pinaghihirapan ko rin naman po ‘yun, ini-extra ko naman po ‘yun gabi-gabi. Doon po nanggagaling ‘yung kompiyansa ko, ‘yung kapal ng mukha ko na itira ‘yon.”

Coach Victolero couldn’t help but laugh at his rookie’s sheer guts in the closing minutes of the game. 

“That’s why he’s in the last two minutes… because of his kapal ng mukha,” Victolero said.

By taking down the defending champions, the Cardinals proved that a 0-3 start isn’t going to stop them from competing—and their young guns are more than ready to step up when it matters most.