Goldwin Monteverde wants the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons to focus on themselves first rather than fret about who they will face in the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Fighting Maroons finished as the top seed for the first time in the Final Four era.
They will hold a twice-to-beat advantage against the winner of the playoff for fourth spot between the Adamson Soaring Falcons and the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
For Monteverde, though, that is just outside noise that the Fighting Maroons must ignore for the time being.
“Hindi naming iisipin yung sitwasyon na yun basta kami, like I said, importante malaman namin kung sino tapos mag-pe-prepare kami para dun. We’re not gonna think about that (twice-to-beat) advantage,” he said.
“Ganun lang kami lagi. We will always concentrate on the things we need to improve on. Winning or losing a game, there’s always something there to learn. Ang importante, makita namin through this game kung ano pa ang kailangan naming gawin sa mga lapses. We just have to concentrate on ourselves first before dealing with kung sinoman makakalaban namin.”
During the elimination round, UP split its series with Ateneo. It lost the first-round clash, 99-89, last October 22 but won, 65-60, last October 29 in the second round.
On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons defeated the Soaring Falcons, 68-51, last October 1 in the first round and 77-51 in the second round last October 25.
While one may forgive UP for wanting Adamson to win because the path to the finals may look easier on paper, Monteverde refuses to tempt fate.
“It’s the same,” said Monteverde.
“Wala kaming pinipili sa Ateneo o Adamson. We don’t compare. Basta, iniisip namin bibigay naming lahat. Kung sinoman makakaharap namin, we’re gonna make sure we’re gonna prepare for that. One thing na maganda rito, everybody is getting healthy towards the playoffs.”
UP is just one win away from a third straight finals appearance. The Fighting Maroons have been a force of nature throughout Season 86 as they have only lost two games in the elimination round.
While getting into the semifinals is an achievement already, Monteverde knows that there is still more work to do if his players want to win the championship. At this point, it is about ensuring that all of the efforts they exerted to get here won’t go to waste.
“I think sa start pa lang ng season, alam natin lahat ng teams very competitive,” he said. “Getting here at this spot is just part of it pero alam naman natin na di pa tapos. Whatever we worked hard for, we just have to follow through on it. We just have to wait kung sino makakalaban namin and prepare for them.
“It’s just a result of yung hard work namin. Lahat naman nito, di naman ito nakaplano. Like I said, whatever comes through, we have to prepare just to fight over every challenges. Kung saan tayo nakarating ngayon, at least we’re thankful but it’s not yet done.”
