Déjà vu for the University of the Philippines.
In UAAP Season 86, the Fighting Maroons entered the final day of the first round with a 6-0 record. Back then, they earned the nickname “Cramming Maroons” due to their slow starts before clawing back to secure victories.
However, on the final day of that round, they faced their Season 85 Finals tormentor, Ateneo de Manila University. The story was the same—UP scrambled to force overtime, but the Blue Eagles emerged victorious with a 99-89 win.
Fast forward to today, and UP once again finished the first round with a perfect 6-0 slate. But in their last two games, they needed strong second-half performances to get past Adamson University and the University of Santo Tomas.
On the final day of first-round action, the Fighting Maroons faced a familiar foe: the De La Salle Green Archers, their Season 86 Finals opponent.
La Salle exploded to a commanding 35-15 lead midway through the second quarter, but UP fought back, tying the game at 42 in the third period.
However, the Green Archers, led by reigning MVP Kevin Quiambao, held their ground and secured a 68-56 victory, claiming the top spot in the Season 87 men’s basketball standings.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
“I think from the last two games namin, sabi ko nga, we can’t play catch-up basketball every time na pauunahin mo, sabay hahabulin mo,” UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde said after the game.
“Yeah, we really need to work on that. Alam namin gawin doon. Siguro, after this, pag napanood namin yung games, makikita namin kung ano talaga ang dapat,” added the champion coach.
The Season 84 champions had trailed by as much as 22 points against Adamson and also needed a comeback to overcome UST before securing those wins. According to Monteverde, while losing is never ideal, this defeat provides them with a new perspective on how they approach the game.
UP will look to bounce back next weekend when they begin the second round against UST.
“I guess yun naman yung napag-usapan since bago mag-start yung first game, whether manalo o we lose games, ang importante ay what we could take heading towards the second round,” said Monteverde.
“Definitely for this game, this would be an example that we really need to look up or review on what we need to work on pa, especially offensively, yung execution namin. I think it’s one part of our game we could improve on,” he added.
“Yun lang, siguro bago mag-start siguro, ang laking bagay kasi para sa amin na makita namin pare-parehas. Minsan pag nananalo ka, minsan hindi mo nakikita what needs to [improve].”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
A huge boost for the Fighting Maroons in the second round will be the return of JD Cagulangan, who is second in the MVP race after the first round.
The 5-foot-9 floor general missed the last two games due to illness, but Monteverde confirmed that he will be back on the court by the start of the next round.
Cagulangan, in his final season, has averaged 13.4 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.4 rebounds in his five games played so far.
