University of the Philippines finally put an end to its 15-year drought of reaching the UAAP women’s basketball Final Four on Wednesday.
The Fighting Maroons defeated the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 70-55, to secure their ticket to the Final Four for the first time since Season 71.
However, UP head coach Paul Ramos reminded everyone that making it to the post-season is only the initial step towards achieving their goals for this season.
He stated, “Process goal lang talaga namin this year yung Final Four.
“My happiness is short-lived because after today, we’re targeting already our next game,” he added as the Fighting Maroons still have three games left in the eliminations.
The competition for the top two seeds – which come with a twice-to-beat advantage – remains wide open.
League-leading National University (10-1), UP (9-2), University of Santo Tomas (8-3), and Ateneo de Manila University (7-4) are all separated by just one game behind the higher-ranked team.
Kaye Pesquera, who led the team with 17 points, seven rebounds, and three steals against FEU, echoed her coach’s sentiments regarding the team’s mindset after securing a spot in the Final Four.
She said, “Siguro hindi naman namin iniisip masyado, focused pa rin kami sa next game hanggang wala pang Final Four.”
Ramos also expressed his belief that if everything goes according to plan, there’s no limit to what his Fighting Maroons can achieve.
The last time UP reached the Final Four was in 2008 when they also made it to the Finals but ultimately lost to FEU in two games.
Ramos concluded by saying, “I feel that with the belief of all the players and the community, I feel we’re really gonna try to get the most out of this season and I feel that we will be underperforming if it’s only Final Four that we’re after.”
