Palami calls for Maroons overhaul

MANILA, Philippines - University of the Philippines team manager Dan Palami batted for “drastic action” to turn the fortunes of the Fighting Maroons around when they host next year’s UAAP Season 78.

Palami said with only a win to show in the elims this year and with an ambitious Final Four goal set next season, there should be a “total overhaul” of UP’s basketball program.

He also called for “open tryouts for both old and new players” and a submission of a “clear, complete and doable program for the team from the existing coaching staff and applicant coaches.”

“If we are to drag ourselves out of this quagmire, drastic action has to be taken,” Palami said.

Palami came in to help the Maroons last summer, hoping to duplicate the upsurge of the Philippine Azkals whom he also managed out of the doldrums.

“The question is do we have the decision-makers who have the political will to do it? I’m not a basketball expert but everything should be studied. Of course, with the support of the UP administration, we hope we can improve the program,” he said.

UP has not been to the Final Four since 1997, lurking at the cellar or near it the last 17 years.

In the current season, the Maroons managed to break a 27-game slump with a win over Adamson in the first round, a feat they celebrated with a bonfire at campus.

However, they lost their next seven matches, including their second-round duel with the Falcons to finish with 1-13 and seventh overall. They also fell short of the three-win target set by coach Rey Madrid at the start of the season.