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UAAP 81: When the sleeping giant named UP finally awakened
No cheering - that's the cardinal rule for sportswriters during coverages. In collegiate sports, not even your very own alma mater song is spared. Still, on November 28, 2018, I thought this one time could be an exception to the rule. After all, more than half of the Araneta Coliseum had their hands raised in singing "UP Naming Mahal." Certainly, not one more fist in the air could be considered conspicuous. After all, the University of the Philippines Men's Basketball Team was letting it all out right there on the court. Certainly, not one more show of emotion could be out of place. And after all, the Fighting Maroons had just done it. It, being seeing a new dawn after the so-called dark days. FROM FIGHTING TO WINNING UAAP 81 started very much like how many, many UP seasons did in recent memory. There was a lot of hope, no doubt, what with Paul Desiderio in his last year, Bright Akhuetie in his first year, Gomez de Liano brothers Juan and Javi being back for more, and Bo Perasol still at the helm. Only, being a fan of the Fighting Maroons also meant you know full well all of it couldn't be true. History is a lesson to be learned - and from the promise of Migs De Asis, Mike Gamboa, Martin Reyes, and great Filipino-American hope Mike Silungan and the potential of Mikee Reyes, Woody Co, and Kyles Lao, Diliman has learned many, many lessons, indeed. And then, the season started. A season-opening win became a 1-3 standing. A 3-3 record worsened to 3-5. Standing at an even 5-5 in the stretch run then led to winning three of the last four games in the elimination round. And before you knew it, UP, yes, UP was knocking on the door of the Final Four. Could this be it? Or could this be just the biggest disappointment the Fighting Maroons had ever served? FROM WINNING TO LOSING A winning tradition could be taken for granted. Coming from a school down south that was, is, and forever linked to a particular powerhouse, I, personally, was very much used to winning. Even more, I was right there when Joshua (or Dave, as we called him) Webb, Jeric Fortuna, and Jed Manguera led the team formerly known as the Bengals to a breakthrough championship. So, yeah, personally, my tradition was to root for a winning team - be it in the Jrs. or in the Srs. Come college, though, I traded in the shield of green and white for the luntian at pulang sagisag magpakailanman. And hey, UP Diliman is and always will be the best school in the history of man, in my eyes. In terms of basketball, though, it left much to be desired. As I was about to go to college, the Fighting Maroons went winless in back-to-back years. And then, they had three-win seasons when I was a freshie and a sophomore. In all my four years in college, I only experienced eight wins out of 56. So yeah, in State U, there was the exact opposite of a winning tradition. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't get me wrong here. UP is a power in many, many sports and is a contender for the general championship year in and year out. Back then, though, forgive me if I only had eyes for men's basketball.) FROM JETT TO PAUL And then, a ray of light shone bright, and brighter, and brighter. I have now grown to love Mikee Reyes - he is a great guy and a good analyst. Back then, though, he was a prime proof of what wasn't working in UP. Here was a talent who had a shot at making a name for himself and taking his team along with him for the ride, but unfortunately, just could not put it all together. Reyes was just one of many, many promising players in maroon and green who didn't have the sort of support that a winning tradition entailed. True to their name, though, the Fighting Maroons kept, well, fighting. And in his last year, Jett Manuel proved that the tides could turn in their favor. Manuel would never be the best player on De La Salle University or Ateneo de Manila University or even University of Sto. Tomas and Far Eastern University. Still, he gave his all game in and game out and grew to be a beloved player and leader in Diliman. He set the standard for the kind of fight a Maroon should have and in his last year, steered his squad to a fifth-place finish at 5-9. Not a finish to be proud of by any means, but for the first time in a long time, there were signs of life coming from State U. And that's when I knew Jett Manuel would be my forever King Maroon. However, just two years later, Paul Desiderio made me question that. FROM THEN TO NOW Definitely, Paul Desiderio is not Jett Manuel. Jett is eloquent and looks like he came from an exclusive private school, which he did. Paul speaks in short but sweet terms and is very much proud of his roots in Cebu. What they both have, though, is an undeniable love for UP and an unwavering determination to lead the Fighting Maroons to where they belong. When Manuel left, of course, the reins went to Desiderio and in his very first game as main man, he proved his worth. I know you know what I'm going to talk about - because this was the time he uttered the words that would define State U from that point onto the foreseeable future. "Atin to, papasok to!" -- Paul Desiderio during the timeout. Moments later...#UAAPSeason80 pic.twitter.com/7yafSpldJM — ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) September 10, 2017 The maroon and green yet again fell short of the Final Four that year, but come next season, a playoff berth was, indeed, theirs for the taking. Downing La Salle in the very last game of the elims, they booked a trip to the next round for the first time since 1997. That would have been more than enough for their long-suffering faithful, but they did themselves one better - actually, two better - and upset second-seed and twice-to-beat Adamson University. Just like that, UP would be playing in its first Finals since the days of Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Eric Altamirano, and Joe Lipa. That day, November 28, 2018, would always live on with me. FROM ME TO YOU As bad as I wanted to break the cardinal rule for sportswriters, I didn't. As bad as I wanted to stay on the floor to listen and live in the chorus singing in harmony, "Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan," I couldn't. When UP made history, I had to go back to the press room and finish my full take on the game. Just minutes before, I honestly couldn't believe the breaking report I was working on in my phone and uploading in our website. Really? The Fighting Maroons had done it. Even with the final stat sheet in my hands, I still couldn't believe it. Really? The Fighting Maroons had done it. Even through writing "those back-to-back wins have set up for them a date with defending champion Ateneo de Manila University in the best-of-three Finals slated for Saturday at the MOA Arena," I still couldn't believe it. Really? The Fighting Maroons had done it. Of course, in the very end, Ateneo was Ateneo and State U had to settle for second-place. Still, there may not be another silver medal that was worth celebrating more. You have to understand that again, this is a team not that far off from its dark days - so, yeah, this silver season was a special season. And so, at the very end of Season 81, when I saw Paul standing on the game officials' table, basking in the UP community's cries of "De-si-de-rio" and "A-tin-to," another chant was playing in my head - "You deserve it." This image, would always live on with me. At the same time, though, I was a firsthand witness to another image that told me this was just the beginning. First Finals appearance, first Finals loss. Fo sho, GDL brothers @javigdl22 and @juan_swish9 will only be better from this. #UAAPSeason81 pic.twitter.com/CMV0JH30rh — No Work Normie Riego (@riegogogo) December 5, 2018 Juan and Javi GDL sat on the makeshift awarding stage while the Blue Eagles were enjoying their back-to-back championships and Desiderio was being serenaded by the Fighting Maroons' faithful. Their eyes were welling up with tears, but deep down there, you could also see their determination to be back, to be better, and to say themselves "Atin 'to" to a championship. FROM HERE ON OUT UAAP 81 was Ateneo's, no doubt about that. UAAP 82, when UP was supposedly stronger, was still Ateneo's, yet again no doubt about that. Actually, the Fighting Maroons were even owned by runner-up UST that year - and those Growling Tigers had a Cinderella tale to tell of their own. And yet, for my money, no team in recent memory has won over everybody quite like Paul Desiderio's UP Fighting Maroons. Maybe, just maybe, that's all because I'm an Isko with student no. 2008-6*1*5. Or maybe, just maybe, it's so good to see a sleeping giant awakened - now knowledgeable of how to build a team and now knowledgeable how to put up support for that team. Or maybe, just maybe, it's so good to see homegrown stars like Diego Dario and the GDLs stay home and play home and to see a foreign student-athlete like Akhuetie shine bright both as a student and as an athlete. Or maybe, just maybe, it's so good to put your full faith in somebody like Desiderio who truly, madly, and deeply believed "Atin 'to" - even though recent history said otherwise. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo. Norman Lee Benjamin Riego has served as a sub-section editor for ABS-CBN Sports' website since 2014. He is among thousands of ABS-CBN employees who will be retrenched on August 31, 2020. .....»»
Bong and Mozzy feeling bittersweet with Thirdy leaving Ravena nest
Without a doubt, Bong and Mozzy Ravena want the best for Thirdy. And right now, they are adamant that Japan's B.League is the best for their second son's young career. "Sobrang proud namin kay Thirdy," mama Mozzy said just hours after it became official that Thirdy will be suiting up for San-En NeoPhoenix. "Gustuhin man naming nandito siya sa atin, as parents, we want yung best sa kanya. Playing internationally is where he can reach his potential." The three-time Finals MVP with Ateneo de Manila University is the first player to be joining the Japanese league by way of the "Asian Player Quotas" instituted in November of last year. The rule aims to open doors for more and more non-Japanese Asian players to join the B.League to "enhance competition in daily games… and expand business in the Asian market." In essence, Ravena will play as an Asian import for San-En NeoPhoenix. That's exactly why Papa Bong's first and foremost advice is for Thirdy to play like an Asian import. "I just told him to focus, play hard, play smart, and play as an import," he said. For the proud parents, they have no doubt whatsoever that their child will only keep on making them proud. And so, the greater worry for them is the fact that their 23-year-old son will have to live independently for quite some time. Of course, Bong and Mozzy will make sure that they will still be taking care of Thirdy. As the former put it, "Mahirap para sa magulang na mangibang-bansa ang anak. We're already planning on taking turns going there para may kasama siya." He then continued, "Pero same lang din with Kief before, pupuntahan namin siya kung sino man sa amin ang pwedeng pumunta. Better lang for Thirdy because Japan is closer." The Ravena matriarch was of the same mind. "First time mawawala nang matagal sa amin si Thirdy kaya siyempre, may worry rin kami as parents, pero alam naman namin ni Bong na kakayanin niya mag-isa," she said. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogogo......»»
Kiefer, Kobe team up in Bo Perasol s UAAP First 5
Bo Perasol has been calling the shots for the University of the Philippines from 2016 to present. Before this, the always amiable mentor was at the helm for Ateneo de Manila University from 2013 to 2015. Through all of that, he has had a hand in the discovery and the development of young talent for his teams as well as the game planning for the opposing rising stars. Among all of those, who are the best of the best for him? Here is Bo Perasol's UAAP First 5, as listed down by him in an online question-and-answer session organized by Hoops Coaches International: KIEFER RAVENA Ravena was the main man for each and every one of Perasol's seasons in Ateneo - the last two of which produced back-to-back MVPs for the former. What it fell short of producing, however, was a championship which was a different feeling - relative to them, at least - as Ateneo was coming off a five-peat. Still, under Perasol, Ravena was allowed to spread his wings to its widest reach and fly to the greatest of heights. KOBE PARAS Paras decided to come home to the Philippines and play for UP - coincidentally, his father's alma mater. What he found in the Fighting Maroons was a mean machine that had been newly assembled into a legitimate contender under Perasol's direction. In the first of his two years for State U, Paras wasted no time in putting on display just how much of a two-way force he could be. PAUL DESIDERIO Perasol picked up the pieces of the puzzle for UP and then put them all together into a working and winning machine. The heart and soul of that machine, however, was, without a doubt, Desiderio - he of "Atin 'to, papasok 'to" lore. Desiderio was never the most talented player on the court, but his love for the game and love for UP inspired all of the Fighting Maroons all the way to a historic Season 81. CHRIS NEWSOME Ravena, for the most part, got the headlines and highlights, but it should never be forgotten that right there with him was Newsome. A do-it-all swingman could turn the tide for Ateneo just as well as he could make a memorable play on either end. With Newsome and Ravena, Perasol's Blue Eagles had an argument to have had the most talented backcourt. ANDREW HARRIS Perasol has coached Season 81 MVP Akhuetie, but for his man in the middle, decided to go with Harris "for character." For sure, the 6-foot-4 big man is not a star player, but he never failed to go all-out each and every moment he was on the court. That energy and effort consistently brought by the now-Philippine national team player in handball is why Perasol has him on his personal list. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»
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