University of the Philippines has informed the organizing committee and tournament director Benny Benitez of the PinoyLiga Collegiate Cup Season 4 about its decision to withdraw from the tournament.
After careful deliberation, the Fighting Maroons coaching staff and management have decided to forgo the team’s remaining games due to scheduling conflicts with official school functions and activities, prior sponsor commitments, and considerations for player conditioning.
“We discussed this with the team management, and we’ve all agreed to prioritize the players’ health and well-being by giving them the necessary time and rest to recover ahead of our training camp in Serbia next week,” said head coach Goldwin Monteverde.
UP1, led by Gerry Abadiano, Harold Alarcon, Janjan Felicilda, Reyland Torres, and Terrence Fortea, reached the semifinals after defeating the College of Saint Benilde last Saturday, 86–73.
With UP’s withdrawal, the winner of the Adamson-Mapua matchup on Tuesday will automatically advance to the finals.
Meanwhile, UP2, led by Rey Remogat and Jacob Bayla — along with transferees Veejay Pre, Arvie Poyos, James Payosing, and Russel Ogana — was scheduled to face National University in a do-or-die encounter on Wednesday.
Now, the Bulldogs will advance to the semifinals by default.
The team’s training camp will be held in Novi Sad and Belgrade, Serbia, from June 15 to July 3.
Monteverde also explained that the team has sponsor commitments scheduled for the coming week, which would have overlapped with a stretch of four to five games in as many days. “With UAAP Season 88 just three months away, ensuring that our players remain healthy, well-conditioned, and injury-free is one of our top priorities.”
“Of course, we want to thank our supporters and fans who made the effort to come to the venue to watch and cheer us on live, as well as our sponsors for their continued support throughout this pre-season. We would also like to thank PinoyLiga for providing the players with the opportunity to gain experience and build chemistry with each other.”
