On Saturday, for the first time in a UAAP setting, Ricci Rivero and his former mentor Aldin Ayo met face-to-face.
Unfortunately, though, it was not a meeting the 21-year-old cager will want to remember in the coming days.
Rivero shot just 1-of-10 from the field, scoring only four points and committed six turnovers in nearly 26 minutes of play. Furthermore, his University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons lost to the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 69-85.
The athletic 6-foot-1 guard admitted that Ayo – whom he played for in De La Salle University from 2016 to 2017 and won a UAAP championship with – really knows how he plays.
“He basically knows how I play. He’s a good coach,” said Rivero moments after the loss at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Still, Rivero does not want to say that Ayo’s familiarity with his game is the reason behind his offensive struggle.
“It’s not about how other people knowing how I play. I just have to fix myself,” said Rivero, who’s a minus-11 in the defeat.
Rivero has a plenty of work ahead of him. In their first game of the season last Wednesday, in which they took down Far Eastern University, he only had seven points on 3-of-15 shooting.
So for him, he sees the need to step up for the Fighting Maroons, especially now that they are 1-1.
“Siguro, I just have to really step up for my team and try to help the team win.”
