UP star rookie Tamayo seeks steady improvement after tense career-high game

MANILA, Philippines – UP rookie big man Carl Tamayo had himself a game to remember at the expense of La Salle on Saturday, April 23, as he finished with a UAAP seniors career-high 23 points plus 11 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting.

Anyone who watched the game, though, could easily tell that the 21-year-old’s game did not exactly pass the eye test with flying colors, especially after he missed two crucial free throws in the waning seconds with the Maroons just up by 2 – opening the doors for La Salle to potentially complete its comeback attempt.

Of course, the former star of the loaded NU high school program did not let that late blunder pass by, and he was his own worst critic after the nail-biting 72-69 win.

“I really need to work on my free throws especially in the end where they’re really needed,” he said in Filipino after the game. “I need to work on those things, and I have a lot of things to improve on as a player.”

“It doesn’t stop at the [collegiate] seniors level. Improvement as a player shouldn’t just stop here. Even when you reach the pros, there is always room for improvement.”

After shooting 4-of-10 from the line against the Archers, the Gilas Pilipinas prospect is just shooting 26-of-56 overall for a subpar 46% clip. It also doesn’t help UP at all that Malick Diouf, who has the second most number of attempts from the line after Tamayo, is clocking in at just 48% – well below desirable standards.

Free throw flaws aside, Tamayo is just thankful that the Maroons were quickly able to bounce back against a contending team after snapping a historic eight-game winning streak. 

“We started strong. We just found the open man until we gained momentum,” he continued in Filipino. “We just need to be consistent. Little by little we’re finding the system we want.”

Even with clear weaknesses still present in his game, Tamayo is already spearheading UP’s charge ahead of its third straight Final Four appearance with averages of 14.0 points and 7.7 rebounds.

Once he gets more years under his belt, and he plugs in the holes in his craft, there is – as the Maroons’ fans always like to say – nowhere to go but up. – Rappler.com