The UP Fighting Maroons: UPrising?

One of the hardest things to do is to come up with an unbiased piece about one’s alma mater. After all, it is the school that nurtured you and helped make you into the person you are today, right? Well, this is basketball and when one brings up the topic of Philippine collegiate basketball, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons are hardly the immediate topic starters. In fact, the immediate things that come to mind when one mentions my beloved school is the Oblation Run, the fishballs and the Cheer Dance team. The present crop of varsity players hopes to change that notion this UAAP Season 76.

UP has won a grand total of two men's basketball crowns, one with an asterisk as the 1939-40 crown was co-owned with the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and the Far Eastern University (FEU). The 1986 title was legit as future PBA players Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Joey Guanio and tournament MVP Eric Altamirano led the charge against the Jerry Codiñera-led University of the East (UE) Warriors.

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However, the Maroons have not been in the Final Four since 1997; the only school in the UAAP which has not entered this elite circle this millennium. There were even some campaigns in the recent past that UP did not even win a single outing, prompting changes in the coaching staff, team management, and the likes over past few years. The program has been the butt of jokes within the basketball community and many foresee that this coming season won’t be any different than the last: another downer.

The arrival last season of former Ateneo de Cebu playmaker Henry Asilum signalled a pulse for the perpetually-developing squad as many noted several similarities in the young guard’s play to that of Magsanoc: crafty, intelligent and bold. American forward Chris Ball gave the Maroons a presence down low as he did his share of upping UP’s rebounding totals last season. And many expected resurgence from former top recruit Mark Juruena as the former Adamson University (AdU) high-school points magnate looked to be on a steady rise after being a minor disappointment in his early career with the Diliman Republic.

It turned out to be another dismal sortie for UP as the Maroons could only muster a 1-13 win-loss slate and once again fall into obscurity.

This year the arrival/return of three second generation cagers—including a former juniors product—look to bolster the drive for a Final Four push by the squad, as the line-up is now starting to look formidable.

WHO’S GONE:

Mike Silungan

Mark Juruena

Mike Gamboa

Alinko Mbah

Jett Manuel

Alvin Padilla

Mark Lopez

Robby Weirzba

Diony Hipolito

Jelo Montecastro

Paolo Romero (ACL injury—out for the season)

WHO’S ADDED:

Andre Paras (Freshman)

Andres Desiderio (Freshman)

Kyles Lao (Freshman)

Sam Marata (Transferee from DLSU)*

Andrew Harris (Transferee from DLSU)

Augustini Amar (Transferee from West Negros College)

Kyle Suarez (From Team B)

Jason Ligad (From Team B)

Manny Dandan (New Assistant Coach)

WHO’S BACK:

Mikee Reyes (Recovered from a shoulder injury)

Martin Pascual (Cut from last year’s roster)

Moriah Gingerich (Cut from last year’s roster)

WHO ELSE IS THERE:

Henry Asilum (Presently injured: separated shoulder)

Joseph Gallarza

Chris Ball

Raul Soyud*

Julius Wong*

*Playing in their final season

With a majority of the former roster gone, Head Coach Ricky Dandan seemingly has a monumental task to get his “new” team ready—especially with eight new faces in the line-up. However, the veteran mentor is quite upbeat with this squad.

“We may lack the bigs, but this is a very tight group of young men,” he explains. “Everyone understands the roles and everyone is getting into the system. It’s going to be fun.

“One of the keys for us is to be very unpredictable; let the opponent adjust to us and not the other way around.”

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The sidelining of Asilum is a concern for him, though.

“Henry is our top playmaker,” Dandan stressed. “It will all depend on what the doctors say, but if all goes well we hope to have him in the line-up when the season begins.”

Asilum dislocated his shoulder in practice is initially diagnosed to be out for two months, which will make him miss practically the first round of the eliminations. However, the sophomore is upbeat in his chances of returning sooner.

“I feel there’s a lot of improvement in the shoulder already,” Asilum, one of Gatorade Philippine’s “G Rising Stars” reports. “If the pain decreases, I can be ready by the start of the season. But that decision isn’t mine.”

If it is deemed that Asilum may need additional time to recuperate from the injury, there is a chance he may be scratched from the line-up and fielded back in for Season 77. Dandan hopes this will not be the case.

“Although his (Asilum’s) health is our top priority, I believe he can make a full recovery within the season,” Dandan explains.

Should there be any setbacks, returning point guard Mikee Reyes has shown that he has matured after sustaining a shoulder injury of his own last season. Reyes, the son of former San Beda player and Head Coach Jonathan Reyes was cat-quick and heady during a recent UP scrimmage I witnessed and looks primed to take over, just in case.

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But the new players who have created the most stir are a pair of second generation players, one seeing his first action in the collegiate ranks, the other returning to finish his.

Freshman Andre Paras will suit up for the school his father first cracked the proverbial basketball map in as a greenhorn in 1986. The younger Paras, a product of De La Salle Greenhills has been under the microscope with probably the biggest shoes to fill among any new-comer, but the 6’3” eldest son of the former two-time PBA MVP has impressed Dandan.

“He has a great medium range shot and crashes the boards a lot,” Dandan noted. “He is a completely different player from Benjie, but he gives us a great dimension because of his quickness and length. He also has a high basketball IQ and is easy to teach. He’ll be a factor for us this season.”

Sam Marata “comes home” to play his final year with the school he won a UAAP Juniors MVP award with. His choice to play for the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers after his celebrated final season with the University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS) caused an uproar in the community, but the “prodigal son of Diliman” is finally back to help the Maroons make one push for the Final Four before he ends his collegiate cage career.

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“I was sort of lost in the DLSU rotation,” Marata, the son of former professional player Tata Matara confides. “Also, there was a time when my priorities got all screwed up and I needed to refocus and that goal to become a better person brought me back home (to UP).

“I was initially afraid of what the alumni and supporters of the team would say about my decision to return to UP, but I got a lot of support and now I’m here to help the team win.”

“Sam will be one of the focal points of our offense,” Dandan noted about the former Philippine Youth Team member. “He can still shoot very well and he can take control of a game in an instant. He’s looked upon to be our primary option. His maturity will help us win games.”

“It feels strange that being the new player also makes me the ‘Kuya’ of the team,” Marata shares. “But if my experience can help these young guys become better, then I’m all for it.”

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Marata cannot hide that when the Maroons encounter the Archers that he will be playing with a deeper sense of purpose.

“I don’t want to say that it will be personal when we go up against them (DLSU), but it will be special for me to try and beat my old team,” the fifth year newbie says.

Whether or not UP rises from the doldrums this season still remains to be seen. But with a system that looks to move the ball to the best available option, a defense that looks stingy and a new set of fresh legs and minds that may be oblivious to the grandeur that stands before them, the Fighting Maroons look poised to threaten for a slot at the Final Four. There’s nowhere else but up for UP and if they can pull off a few upsets here and a few squeakers there, then they may just be the biggest surprise of the upcoming season. Not very many people gave the 1986 champions a chance to win it all, yet they prevailed. This present crop may just be ready to create their own version of positive noise in a few months.

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But then again, I’m from UP. I always see positive things in our sports programs and I always have been this way about it. As I said at the beginning, it’s hard to be unbiased about one’s alma mater. I guess the onus is on these kids to prove me right or wrong. I get the feeling that this special group of young men have the tools to be great. After all, I’m a blogger not a news writer, so Push on UP! #ProudIsko

Follow Noel Zarate on Twitter (@NoelZarate)