Scapegoating Aljon?

I took that from Aljon Mariano's Twitter account (@aljonmariano), because it is the right and appropriate decision to do.

Scapegoating is the natural response mechanism for us whenever something goes wrong, resulting in an outcome that is not ideal.

This is especially true in sports, when one miscue could lead to a totally different outcome. Could even cost you your life, when you think about it.



Mariano had been going through a rough stretch offensively, which statistically can be taken back to as far as their 2nd round meeting against DLSU. This was made more apparent in the past two games of the Finals, due to the mismatch of having to deal with the Hefty Lefty in Jason Perkins and even Norbert Torres when DLSU went into their Twin Tower combo with Arnold Van Opstal.

But the forward wanted to help UST win. He already bailed them out before.



But he was struggling from the field shooting. He missed all of his attempts. So this happened with over six seconds left in regulation, with the Tigers having the opportunity to clinch a championship.



At least he can still redeem himself, right? Unfortunately, this happened.



And you know what immediately happened afterwards.



Almond Vosotros' baseline jumper gave La Salle the last lead change in the game. Scanning through the timeline DURING the game (and this was before the two "miscues") was not very flattering for Mariano, what more when he audibled on the final play of regulation as well as when he threw the ball away. One might say, it was very vitriolic, made magnified by the circumstance.

I think it is natural and human that we have a need to point to someone as the one who caused this pain and suffering. It is instinctive. However, we can't hold a grudge like that forever. You can express such hate, but just on that "heat of the moment" portion.

Aljon understood that well. That is probably why, I guess, it took him THAT long to reappear on social media. He allowed everyone to express their emotion, their passion and their love for the alma mater; and allowed himself to think, reflect on the moment, understand and appreciate things. If they are hard on you, what more you are to yourself? One can't really imagine that unless you yourself felt it. And when you do, you got the meaning and its significance. The better thing is that he acknowledged his faults and vowed to bounce back from them. Meaning, he didn't shirk from the moment. That is an admirable and teachable moment.

In the post-Chris Lao ("I'm not informed") era, we sometimes overstep the boundaries and enter into some kind of cyberbullying. We ought to recognize that this does happen, normally unwittingly thanks to the "heat of the moment," but when you now know that you do, one should acknowledge it and publicly let it go and accept fate. He accepted it. We should and ought to, as well.