WHILE elated with its 4-0 start–tied for its best early mark in the league since 1997–University of the Philippines will work hard to avoid falling into the traps of complacency.
“It’s big for us. As coach Goldwin (Monteverde) said in the last game (against UST), it’s always nice to gather as many wins as we can, especially in the first round,” Fighting Maroons assistant tactician Christian Luanzon, who spoke in lieu of Monteverde, said. “Personally, playing in this league two decades ago and at the same time coaching, one thing that I’ve seen in the UAAP as an advantage is that in the first round.
“If you’re able to get at least five or six wins under your belt, ang laking puhunan na noong papasok ng second round so malaking bagay iyon,” he added.
The battle is expected to rage further with defending champion Ateneo trying to regain its old, deadly form and contenders like La Salle, National University and UP fast proving their true worth.
Luanzon said that winless teams Far Eastern University, which the Maroons edged 80-76 in overtime, and University of Santo Tomas should not be counted out.
“(Comfortable) is a word you rarely hear sa locker room namin because no team in this league is a pushover,” Luanzon said.
“What we saw in FEU coming into this game, ang mahirap sa mga ganitong (winless) teams like FEU and UST, when you come to play them ay dala nila ang school pride nila at iyong gutom para manalo.”
The Maroons will try to stretch their winning run to five when they tackle the Growling Tigers tomorrow, Saturday, at 4 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Blue Eagles take on the Tamaraws in the curtain-raiser set at 2 o’clock.
Meanwhile, the UAAP Basketball Commissioner’s Office yesterday took a decisive step to uphold the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in officiating games by suspending three referees for three weeks.
The decision to suspend the referees was a direct result of subpar grades received from the Referee Game Report Card, which serves as a quantitative evaluation of their performance during UAAP basketball games.
Basketball Commissioner Xavier Nunag said the league maintains its unwavering commitment to provide competent and professional game officials.
“We take the responsibility of providing competent and professional referees to the league very seriously, and it is essential that all officials maintain the highest level of integrity and accuracy. The suspension is intended to give the referees the opportunity to reflect on their actions and to improve their performance,” Nunag said in a statement yesterday.
“Please be assured that we will make every effort to find suitable replacements during the suspension and we will continue to monitor the performance of all our referees with the help of concrete data to ensure the highest standards are maintained.”
The suspended referees have not been identified.
The move underscores the UAAP’s dedication to foster excellence in basketball officiating and ensure the sport’s integrity remains paramount.
