REACHING the UAAP men’s seniors basketball finals for the first time in over three decades is already a huge achievement but the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons is not just about to settle for a bridesmaid finish without a fight.
However, climbing to the top of the mountain could be a herculean task for the “Strong 16” of the Maroons. They will be battling the defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles at the start of the best-of-three finals today at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Maroons head coach Dolreich “Bo” Perasol surely knows he will need more than 100-percent effort from his UAAP finals tyros lineup to overthrow the Blue Eagles from the throne.
“No basketball aficionado in his right mind would probably give us a good chance against Ateneo,” Perasol said. “I don’t even know how we can plan right now against Ateneo — a very formidable, tough team.”
“(However), we would want that (underdog) tag that UP doesn’t stand a chance against Ateneo,” added the Ilonggo mentor. “There is something there that we do, that’s going to keep us going forward, looking to that championship game.”
Perasol surely knows what he is talking about with the Fighting Maroons being the underdogs the entire season, with no preseason analysis giving them at least a chance of reaching the Final Four.
When the Fighting Maroons reached the semifinals round for the first time since 1997, no one again gave them a chance as they have a twice-to-beat disadvantage against the No. 2 seed Adamson Falcons.
Now that the Maroons are in the finals for the first time since it last hoisted a UAAP men’s basketball trophy in 1986, Perasol is hoping to dig deep on that underdog mantra anew to pull off the improbable against the insurmountable Blue Eagles.
“We know that we could take something from that, the courage, the resilience, our feeling that we need to keep moving,” Perasol said. “We need to keep fighting, no matter what the odds are. That had been our team principle in this season.”
Pulling off the upset against the Blue Eagles will surely be a huge thing for this young Fighting Maroons, it could even the start of more UAAP titles to come with them being reinforced with the arrival of Ricci Rivero and Kobe Paras.
Personally, I am for the Blue Eagles winning in two games against the Fighting Maroons but I will not be upset when the boys of UP pull the plug on the Ateneans for them to quench the 32 years of thirst for a UAAP glory./PN
