WHILE University of the Philippines is off to a fast start, the Fighting Maroons cannot afford to fall into the traps of complacency.

“For sure, it’s always about the big picture for us more than iyong final result. Laging sinasabi ni coach Goldwin (Monteverde), it only takes one point to win and whether you win by 27 or 30 pero kung hindi mo tatapusin ng maayos,” UP assistant coach Christian Luanzon said after the Maroons tamed the National University Bulldogs 89-62 last Wednesday for their third straight win in the 87th UAAP basketball tournament. “Sometimes you would rather win by one point as long as every possession, offensive, defensive was accounted for.

“But then again, it doesn’t stop here. We still have to prepare for, you know, the next game, this weekend against FEU,” he added.

Luanzon said Monteverde’s trust on their players is proving to be the key so far.

“Well, number one iyong tiwala. Tiwala ng coaches sa players, vice versa, players sa coaches and that’s something that doesn’t happen overnight. A big factor to that is obviously iyong leadership ni coach Gold, personally I could also attest to that, not only working with him but also playing for him, under him 25 or 30 years ago,” Luanzon said. “So, if there’s one thing, iyong strength talaga ni coach Gold bilang isang coach is iyong relationship niya sa players.

“Iyong relationship niya sa players on and off the floor and a big part of any relationship, alam ninyo naman, is tiwala, ‘di ba? So, iyong tiwala nila kay coach Gold whether gamitin sila ng mahaba or hindi napakalaking bagay noon sa team.”

The Katipunan-based quintet will stake its unbeaten run against winless Far Eastern University on Sunday, Sept. 22.

“Minsan ang tao kapag desperado at heartbroken, they go the extra mile. It’s really up to the team how we have a short-term memory after (this match against NU),” Luanzon said.

“Iyong goal namin, it’s not to win four or five (games), we wanna win every game, yes, but at the same time we wanna put ourselves into a position to make it into the final four and then make it to the finals, hopefully, again.”