Tennessee’s J.P. Estrella has hilarious and perfectly relatable reaction to pivotal bonehead play in win over Georgia
The Vols’ big man did not hold back his feelings about the game’s most unforgettable moment.
Tennessee basketball has been surrounded by bizarre and surreal moments over the last week. The team had to play against a professional basketball player in Alabama’s Charles Bediako, but they rose above it with a 79-73 win in Tuscaloosa.
Another took place late on Wednesday night in Athens, where Tennessee held a slim lead in overtime against the Bulldogs in a key SEC tilt. Up 86-83, Georgia had the ball with around 15 seconds left. They drove it into the frontcourt, needing either a three pointer to tie the game or a very quick two.
After dribbling around and milking the clock to the final few seconds, there was only one real choice left – get off a game-tying three. However, Georgia’s Marcus Millender — who otherwise had a brilliant game with 19 points on 8-10 from the field — chose the alternative. With Tennessee aggressive on the perimeter, he drove to the basket and laid it in with 0.6 seconds left.
J.P. Estrella was like all Vol fans when Georgia made layup down three with 0.6 seconds left
Everyone in the arena held their hands on their heads, in disbelief of what they just saw.
Well, not everyone, actually. Those in orange surely loved what they just witnessed, including Vols forward J.P. Estrella, who had a big game himself with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Estrella was asked after the game about his thoughts when that happened, and it was pretty much what most Vol fans probably felt in that moment.
“I was loving it,” he said to ensuing laughter. “They did the layup. I look right over at Bishop (Boswell) and I did this (pumps his fist) to him. So, that’s all I’ll say. It was a great feeling when he went for the layup, but we finished it out really well, and I’m really happy with everything.”
It was a game that Tennessee certainly deserved to win in the box score. The Vols outrebounded Georgia by a staggering 52-27 margin, holding an incredible 26-7 margin in offensive boards. And the odds still would have been in Tennessee’s favor, statistically, even if Millender or someone else got off a contested three-point shot.
But you take the help from your opponent where you can get it, and Millender’s late decision no doubt helped seal the win for the Vols.
Talk about smiling and moving on.
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