‘BE sad for now, and tomorrow, look forward and represent the University of the Philippines community.”
Thus declared 6’11” Malick Diouf in an interview after the UP Men’s Basketball Team’s (UPMBT) unsuccessful attempt to regain the championship trophy in the Finals Game 3 of Season 86 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) at the Smart Araneta on December 6, 2023.
The players for the UPMBT for Season 86 include Gerry Abadiano (6’0”), Harold Alarcon (6’1”), Sean Alter ( 6’9”), Mark Belmonte (6’5”), Chico Briones (6’6”), Joel Diomar Cagulangan (5’9), CJ Cansino (6’2”), Malick Diouf (6’11”), Janjan Felicilda (5’7”), Terrence Fortea (6’1”), Seven Gagate (6’8”), Cyril Gonzales (5’10”), Francis Lopez (6’5”), Luis Pablo (6’7”), Sean Aldous Torculas (6’4”), Reyland Torres (6’1”). Malick is the tallest and Felicilda the shortest.
Being the tallest is also commensurate to Malick’s combined points of 210, which is the highest among the team, followed by Cansino (186), Lopez (174), Alarcon (167), Abadiano (110), Cagulangan (99), Felicilda (95), Torculas (85), Torres (69), Briones (50), Belmonte (45), Gonzales (38), Alter (25), Pablo (24), Fortea (20) and Gagate (8).
UP is one of the four founding members of the UAAP in 1938. There are currently eight member universities. I still remember watching basketball games of the UAAP in the late 1980s and early 1990s with almost empty seats.
In 1986, the UPMBT won over the UE Red Warriors under the guidance of legendary coach Joe Lipa with star players Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc and Eric Altamirano.
From 2007 to 2014, except in 2008, UP was always at the bottom — it ranked eighth (out of eight schools) in the basketball category.
The UP Fighting Maroons won their first title in 1939 (Season 2) then followed it up 47 years later in 1986 (Season 49). Then there was the 36 years of championship drought until its third title in Season 84 in 2022.
In 2014, UP lit up a bonfire at the Sunken Garden to mark one win after a 27-game losing streak.
In 2018 Season 81, UP’s bid for the championship trophy unfortunately ended when it lost to Ateneo.
In 2019 Season 82, UP was defeated by UST during the Final Four round.
In 2020-2021 season 83, there was no tournament due to the pandemic.
In 2022, the Maroons had their best record as champions in Season 84.
The UPMBT claimed their first championship in 36 years when it dethroned the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the Finals Game 3 of the UAAP Season 84 on May 13, 2022 at the MOA Arena.
However, UP’s attempt to regain its championship title for Season 85 ended when it succumbed to Ateneo in the Finals Game 3 on December 19, 2022.
In 2023, UP again failed to earn the championship title for Season 86 after it lost to De La Salle University (DLSU) in the Finals Game 3 on December 6, 2023 before a roaring crowd of 25,192 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UP was the top seed after the elimination round with 12 wins and 2 losses. It qualified for the Finals when it won over Ateneo (57-46) in their November 25, 2023 game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UP won Game 1 of the finals (97-67) but the Green Archers came back in Game 2 (82-60). DLSU won in Game 3 (73-69), bagging the trophy.
The Finals Game 3 scores of UP (69): Diouf (21), Lopez (12), Alarcon (10), Cagulangan (8), Felicilda (5), Cansino (5), Torculas (4), Abadiano (2), Torres (2), Fortea 0, Pablo 0.
The scores for the quarters (DLSU/UP): 22-21, 39-43, 55-58, and 73-69.
This is the last UAAP season game for team captain Cansino and Diouf as they are set to graduate this academic year with the degree on BS Sports Sciences. Malick was recognized as part of the Mythical 5 for Season 86 and the Most Valuable Player for Season 85.
Cansino said that they are thankful for the UP community’s continuous support as “they loved us like no other, win or lose. They were always there.”
Securing tickets became a challenging feat in every game due to the increasing number of enthusiastic fans eager to shout “UP Fight” as the maroons battle it out to earn the spot for the final games.
Each game became mini-reunions with endless photo-ops and reminiscing of college days memories over coffee, lunch, merienda or dinner. This galvanized an extraordinary sense of solidarity for UP constituents often described as the microcosm of a highly diverse nation.
A campus anecdote was that the varsity team was once known as the UP Parrots. It was replaced with a new moniker that revived the old (circa 1920s) name Maroons along with the adjective “fighting” to describe the sportsmanship attitude that the UP varsity teams must possess during the games.
UP is an academic community all too easily fractured by politics and personal interest, but the cheer “UP Fight!” reverberated during UAAP games as the UP Fighting Maroons fought UP style — “may giting at tapang.” Every point is worth screaming for.
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“Peyups” is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786./PN
