Trash-talking UST spurs DLSU’s Mark Dyke to career-high marks

ANTIPOLO, Philippines – Even in basketball, you don’t want to poke a sleeping bear.

But that’s exactly what UST allegedly did to La Salle’s veteran role player Mark Dyke during their UAAP Season 81 second-round match in Antipolo City, and they paid dearly for it.

The result? The seldom-used Dyke exploded for a career-high 16 points on a 5-of-8 (63%) shooting, 2-of-2 threes and 6 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.

After Aljun Melecio’s team-high 22 points, Dyke led 4 other Archers in double-digit scoring en route to a 110-69 walloping of the Tigers.

According to Dyke, that’s what happens when opponents don’t respect him.

“Kasi parang nawawala yung respeto sa akin ng mga kalaban eh,” he said after the game. “Tina-trash talk nila ako, sinsasabi nila na wala naman akong nagagawang maayos sa team. Yun, dun ako na-fire up. Kaya yun, ganun yung naging outcome ng game.”

(It’s like opponents no longer respect me. They trash talk, telling me I don’t do anything good for the team. That’s what fired me up. So there, you saw the outcome of the game.)

The third-year forward said this is just the beginning.

“Siguro sa game na to, oo, [napatunayan ko silang mali] pero kulang pa rin,” he said. “Kailangan ko pa ring i-improve yung sarili ko para ipakita sa iba na kaya ko talaga. Di lang sa high school, kahit sa college.”

(Maybe for this game, yeah, I proved them wrong, but this is not enough. I still need to improve myself more to show others that I can really do well. Not just in high school, but in college as well.)

Prior to this eruption, Dyke was averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in just 10 minutes a game. He might be on the lower end of the rotation, but that doesn’t mean coach Louie Gonzalez has no confidence in him.

“Mindset ko lang entering the game, dapat ‘yung kumpiyansa ko dati maibalik ko. ‘Yun kasi ‘yung nawawala sa’kin eh,” he said. “Nagtiwala lang ako kay coach na dati sinasabi niya sa’kin, bibigyan niya ko ng kumpiyansa kahit ilang minutes lang ako sa court.”

(My mindset entering the game, I have to regain my confidence. That’s what I’m losing. I just trusted coach when he said he’s giving me confidence even in limited minutes on the court.)

“Today is my day.” – Rappler.com