By: Joaquin Cortez
Years of playing together gave Veejay Pre and Kirby Mongcopa plenty of memories to look back on, but when they finally found themselves on opposite ends of the court, only one could walk away with the win.
Pre and Mongcopa, longtime friends and former teammates at FEU-Diliman High School, reunited on Sunday as University of the Philippines faced Far Eastern University in the UAAP Season 89 Collegiate Men’s Basketball Tournament at the PhilSports Arena.
After Pre spent last season on the sidelines following his transfer to UP, the two finally went head-to-head in a competitive game after years of sharing the same side.
“It’s a pleasure na makasama siya sa court,” Pre said.
“Back in high school, nagpapaturo ako sa kanya kasi teammates kami.”
Their friendship, however, had to take a backseat for 40 minutes as Pre and Mongcopa battled to lead their respective teams to victory. And on this night, it was Mongcopa who had the last laugh.
The FEU guard erupted for 24 points, nine rebounds, and three assists as the Tamaraws secured a wire-to-wire 90-79 victory over the Fighting Maroons.
Pre, meanwhile, paced UP with 16 points and five rebounds, but could only watch as FEU controlled the game from start to finish.
Despite the frustrating result, Pre said seeing his longtime friend again remained a highlight of the night.
“Masaya kasi nagtapat kami,” Pre said.
“Sa loob ng court, magkalaban kami. Pero pag nasa labas ng court, magkaibigan kami.”
(C) UAAP Season 89 Media Team
The defeat also marked Pre’s first game against his former team since leaving FEU after his rookie season. He won Season 87 Rookie of the Year honors with the Tamaraws before sitting out last season following his transfer to UP.
Still, Pre refused to look at his individual performance as a consolation after the loss. He instead emphasized that UP’s success would ultimately depend on the collective effort of the team.
“Para sa akin, hindi ako satisfied. Hindi naman ako ‘yung magpapanalo sa team kundi lahat kami, ‘yung collective effort namin,” Pre said.
“So ayun, bounce back na lang kami sa practices and bawi sa next game.”
As he continues his new chapter in Diliman, Pre is also carrying lessons from his time in Morayta — particularly the importance of being coachable, a value instilled in him by former FEU-Diliman coach Allan Albano.
“Ang natutunan ko talaga sa FEU is ‘yung maging coachable kasi itinuro ‘yon sa akin ni Coach Allan na kung kanino man ako mapunta, maging coachable ako,” Pre said.
“‘Yun lang ang ginagawa ko palagi.”
Now, Pre hopes that same mindset can help UP recover from its latest setback. The Fighting Maroons, he admitted, allowed FEU to gain too much control too early, something they cannot afford as the season progresses.
“Para sa akin, bumitaw kami. Sa akin, hindi dapat nangyari ‘yun,” he said.
“Pagdating ng mahahalagang games, every game mahalaga, so dapat hindi kami ganon. From the start, dapat strong start na kami.”
