UNIVERSITY of the Philippines saw its hard-earned twice-to-beat advantage vanish into thin air in the face of La Salle’s offensive onslaught last Wednesday.
But there’s no crying over spilt milk, according to Fighting Maroons coach Goldwin Monteverde.
“Hindi naman first time na nangyari sa amin ito, kumbaga may mga games din kami before na hindi namin makuha masyado iyong rhythm na gusto namin, minsan nangyayari iyan.
Ang importante right now is just to know, makita namin ano ba dapat naming gawin, where to adjust,” Monteverde said.
“Tapos ang sabi ko nga, sa ganitong klaseng season wala ka namang panahon para sumama pa loob mo, isang araw lang dapat diyan, we need to bounce back, and be ready,” he added.
UP and La Salle square off anew today in their Final Four duel for the last finals slot in the 84th UAAP basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The do-or-die match is set at 6 p.m., with the winner advancing to the best-of-three finals opposite reigning three-time champion Ateneo beginning on Sunday at the same venue.
The Blue Eagles, seeking to annex a four-peat, tripped Far Eastern University 85-72 also last Wednesday to reach the finals for the fifth straight time and 14th overall in the last 20 years.
The third-ranked Green Archers stunned the No. 2 Maroons, scoring a nail-biting 83-80 victory, last Wednesday.
Six-foot-10 Senegalese Malick Diouf, Carl Tamayo, Ricci Rivero, Zavier Lucero, James Spencer, Joel Cagulangan, and Gerry Abadiano are expected to lead the Maroons, who went into battle with La Salle on a high after shocking Ateneo via an 84-83 squeaker last Sunday.
La Salle coach Derrick Pumaren insisted they are far from where they want to be.
“I believe that we just tied the series, and of course the momentum will be on our side, but we just have to make use of that advantage, the momentum. We just can’t come in there, and just play because we have that momentum,” Pumaren said.
“I think we just have to still work and prepare because we know that UP is capable of coming back because they’re not the No. 2 team if they’re not capable, so we expect UP to come back, we expect UP to play a lot better.”
The likes of Evan Nelle, Justine Baltazar, Schonny Winston, Kurt Lojera, Mark Nonoy, and Joaqui Manuel will be counted upon by La Salle.
UP last reached the finals in 2018 behind Paul Desiderio and former MVP Bright Akhuetie but lost to the Eagles.
The Maroons, then led by pro league greats Benjie Paras and Ronnie Magsanoc, and Eric Altamirano, have not won a crown since 1986.
The Archers are bidding to return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2017 where they also lost to Ateneo.
Under Aldin Ayo, La Salle’s latest title triumph was in 2016 behind Jeron Teng and another former MVP winner in Ben Mbala.
