After clawing their way back from a 0-2 start with an impressive four-game winning streak, defending champion University of the Philippines found itself on the losing end once again — this time against a familiar foe.
In a rematch of the past two UAAP men’s basketball finals, the Fighting Maroons couldn’t close out a resilient De La Salle University side, falling 72-69 on Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Even without Mason Amos and Kean Baclaan, who are both sidelined due to MCL tears, the Green Archers showed grit and poise down the stretch. They handed UP a stinging loss that dropped them into a three-way tie for third place with Ateneo de Manila University and La Salle — all sporting identical 4-3 slates.
Although UP later secured solo third after the application of the points quotient rule to end the first round, head coach Goldwin Monteverde emphasized the need for his squad to rediscover their rhythm and composure in the coming games to live up to their championship pedigree.
Monteverde pointed to La Salle’s resilience as a model of how teams can overcome adversity — a reminder that experience and collective resolve often make the difference in tight contests.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“We just approach this game the same way and alam naman namin na yung La Salle will respond with what’s happening,” said Monteverde.
“Hindi naman sila yung tipo na program na would back down from adversity kasi sa championship experience nila, maganda talaga. We never really say to feel confident about it, but basta kami, nag-prepare kami.”
Still, Monteverde remains proud of how this new generation of Fighting Maroons continues to uphold the program’s championship standard.
However, he admitted that pride alone won’t be enough, especially with powerhouse programs like National University, University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo, and Adamson University all gunning to dethrone the Diliman-based squad.
“I think okay naman. Parang kung nasaan kami before, maganda naman na progression nila, but siyempre we have to be better and improve pa. Kasi alam namin na kung nasaan kami ngayon, kulang pa, pero ttrabahuin pa namin,” Monteverde said, now in his fifth year leading the Maroons.
“We just have to be consistent lang talaga before adversity happens. Hindi ba dapat kasi when we’re put in that position, makapag-execute kami.”
Team captain Gerry Abadiano — who finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, along with two assists and two steals — echoed his coach’s sentiments. He stressed that the team must tune out outside noise and focus on their internal growth heading into the second round.
“Hindi naman iniisip yung ine-expect ng ibang tao. Sa team namin, nagfo-focus lang kami sa circle namin, kung ano i-iimprove namin, doon lang kami magfo-focus,” said Abadiano.
“Siguro papuntang second round, kailangan lang namin maging consistent sa ginagawa namin lalo na sa depensa, kailangan namin maging consistent.”
