Onward And Upward

MANILA, Philippines — It’s not gold, but it’s golden. 

The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons courageously waged a losing battle for UAAP men’s hoops supremacy versus high-flying Katipunan neighbor Ateneo and still felt like winners for telling an inspiring underdog story in a league that can be cruel to non-performers.

“Anybody can feel for an underdog and identify with an underdog,” said UP coach Bo Perasol. “Hey, look at UP, if you’re going to be persistent and patient, then probably you’ll have the chance to succeed in life. It’s not just about winning, it’s about giving an example to the people who are watching us.”

People, not just UP alumni, definitely noticed. As the Maroons hurdled bigger and bigger obstacles as they got deeper into the tournament, the crowd came in bunches and supporters drowned the stunned opposition with louder cries of  “Atin ’To” and “UP Fight.”

Winning back support of Iskos and Iskas from various sectors of society, from divided political lines, was like winning the elusive championship altogether.

“Marami tayong pagsubok. Aminin man natin o hindi, lagi tayong inaasar ng ibang school tungkol sa (We had a lot of trials. Whether we admit or not, we were always being kidded by other schools about) basketball. My biggest trophy was not the championship, it was seeing the community as one,” UP ace Paul Desiderio said in his farewell to schoolmates.

Nowhere else to go

Worthy rivals: Ateneo and UP players after a well-fought Game 1. STAR photos by JOEY MENDOZA

For a university that prides itself as a leader in excellence in many aspects, UP has lagged behind in the chase for UAAP’s crown jewel, basketball.

Since Benjie Paras and Eric Altamirano won it in the months after the Edsa Revolution in 1986, the Maroons have gone on a downward spiral, becoming more like a “bonus game” for the major contenders and wannabes.

It was so bad that at one point, the Maroons lost 27 straight games over a two-year period.

When they did snap that agonizing drought, the Maroons celebrated like they captured the crown, lighting a bonfire – a ritual traditionally held to celebrate a championship – at UP campus in Diliman.

They finished with 1-13 that season and alumni decided enough was enough.

They launched a concerted effort to help turn things around by providing the maligned cage team with a better support system and filling in key personnel, from the coaching staff to players.

Perasol, now calling the shots for his alma mater after a stint with Ateneo, started developing a winning culture at UP.

UP’s Paul Desiderio puts up a valiant effort against Thirdy Ravena and Kakou Kouame of Ateneo.

“He told us to act like winners, practice like winners and play like winners,” said captain Gelo Vito.

In Season 78, the initial year of their buildup, the Maroons tripled their win record and jumped to sixth spot. The following year, they went 5-9 then further bettered their standing with 6-8 in 2017.

This year, with all the pieces in place and the stars aligning, the Maroons broke through the Final Four with a third-best 8-6 win-loss record and rode the momentum longer to go one better, snapping a 36-year absence in the finals.

But it wasn’t all roses in this breakout campaign. 

The Maroons won just three of their first eight matches, jeopardizing what many considered their best chance to make the semis at long last.

But Desiderio and company didn’t lose faith, soldiering on to win five of the next six games to take No. 3 seeding.

“Confident pa rin kami, yung lineup namin, malakas na eh. Medyo pangit lang pinakita namin nung first round so ginawa naming mga seniors, laging nagmi-meeting kung ano ang gagawin, naging successful naman (We were confident, our lineup was strong. We didn’t do well in the first round, so what we seniors did was to constantly meet on what to do, and it worked),” said Desiderio.

Bright Akhuetie of UP and Kakou Kouame of Ateneo make for an exciting match up (left). Akhuetie is named MVP (right).

Not content with a first semis stint in 21 years, State U toppled twice-to-beat Adamson in two nerve-wracking duels to earn a date with Ateneo in the Last-Dance.

“I’ve always believed that any successful program has to go through a struggle. But when you go through that and quit, it won’t be worth it. I just encouraged them and told them that this is the bridge we need to cross in order to get to greatness. They responded,” said Perasol.

Time to put that running joke about UP being “exempted from the finals” to rest.

“I painted to them a picture of us not having any accolade in the last decades and now we have a chance to do this for the community. I think they’re able to grasp the idea that this is their chance to make history for UP,” said Perasol.

6th man

 Iskos and Iskas stepped it up in terms of crowd support as well, trooping to the venues to give the Maroons their “sixth man.”

Ateneo celebrates its back to back championship.

“Sobrang happy kasi nung 2013, ang nanonood sa amin, ilan-ilan lang. Pero this year, paglabas ko, wow ang dami (We were so happy because in 2013 hardly anyone came to watch us. But this year, when I went out, wow, it was a lot),” said Desiderio.

Opponents felt the loud and proud UP crowd. “Ang saya maglaro kasi ang dami nila (It was fun because they were so many),” said Ateneo’s Matt Nieto after Game One. 

Nieto likened it to their experience playing against Chinese Taipei in the Jones Cup in Taiwan last summer.

“Yung team, paglabas sa court, tingin sila nang tingin sa surrounding. Sabi ko sa mga teammates ko, di ba naranasan na natin ito, nung Taipei sa Jones Cup natin (When the team came out on court, they kept looking around. I told them we experienced this already when we played in the Jones Cup in Taipei)? Sabi ko we were overpowered by the Taiwanese when we played them so this is not something new to us. Natatawa lang sila, sabi ko we really had to fight because they’re hungrier than us. 

“Yung crowd nila, ibang iba sa (The crowd is different from) Ateneo-La Salle. Their crowd is bigger, they’re noisier, they’re wild and yung crowd namin is the same from Ateneo-La Salle; hindi sila nawawalan ng pag-asa pero yung UP talagang intense, gusto nila manalo. Paano ba naman 32 years since makapasok sila ng (they don’t lose hope and they want to win. It’s been 32 years since they got to the) finals so we understand.”

The maroon-clad gallery, which included high-powered personalities like Cabinet secretaries, senators, congressmen and big business honchos, pushed the team to fight harder and put up a worthy performance.

For UP fans making it to the finals after 32 years is definitely cause for celebration.

“The burden is not just winning the game, it’s about making an impact on a community that, number one, is very hungry for winning. Parang alam mo na for 32 years, butt of jokes, walang bragging rights na ‘Oh malakas ang team namin sa basketball.’ Every aspect of society, merong taga-UP na nasa (there are UP alumni in) politics, business, judiciary and all of that, pero pagdating sa (but when it comes to) basketball, talagang kulelat si UP (is at the bottom),” said Perasol.

“Kaya kung makikita mo, nagkaroon sila ngayon ng parang isang (But now they’ve got) bragging right, at the same time, a moment that could unite them in a way pwede tayong magkasama-sama dito, kahit magkakaiba tayo ng paniniwala sa pulitika o saan man (we can be together, even though we have different beliefs in politics or whatever)” he added.

Just the start?

As the final buzzer sounded and made formal the Blue Eagles’ extended reign, Perasol urged his wards to keep their heads up for they made the UP community proud and laid the foundation for a really bright future. 

UP wins game one of the semi-finals against Adamson University, bringing them one step closer to a spot in the finals.

“Sinabi ko sa kanila, we can’t be focusing on what just happened (in Game Two). We have to focus on the whole season,” said Perasol. “We can’t be myopic in saying that we lost the game. Of course, we lost but all in all, we became champions in our own right.”

“We already accomplished that. While we enjoy the consequences of that, the praises, adulation of people, the crowd, we need to move on after that,” added Perasol, whose team will welcome high-profile transferees Ricci Rivero and Kobe Paras to join forces with Season 81 MVP Bright Akuetie, Mythical 5 member Juan Gomez de Liano, Jun Manzo, Javi Gomez de Liano and the rest of the “16-Strong” of 2018 in giving it another go next year.