UP MBT

My late afternoon was sad and depressing, as I just finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, while watching what was possibly UP's last game of the season, against UE. These are two of the things that I am currently emotionally attached to: books and basketball. J.K. Rowling's ending to the sixth installment of Harry Potter was a depressing turnout. And halfway through my basketball game, it seemed like I was going to be sad after it as well.

I made it a point to watch this game because it seemed to be Abby and Jino's last game as Fighting Maroons. Everybody knows that I have a thing for Abby, but it isn't just his talent that I've been supporting, I'm a UP Men's Basketball Team fan through and through. I believe that UP's line-up for this year has a lot of talent, with Mika, Axel and Mike joining forces with original Maroons Abby, Nestor, Marvin and Jino. I believe that it wasn't just luck that made them win those six games. I believe that they would have made it. I believe that they -- we -- are not the Fighting Maroons for nothing.

If there's one thing I have to say about UP's MBT, I'd say that they play with a lot of heart. The team doesn't ever give up. I've lost count of the times that they're in a double-digit deficit, but would catch up and deliver an exciting game in the end. As I said, they aren't called the Fighting Maroons for nothing. They fight until the end. It was illustrated yet again in the game this afternoon. The game ended with a difference of 4 lousy points -- they were lousy, considering that UE was leading with as much as 17 points in the earlier quarters.

I am not sugar-coating our MBT. I know that they have a lot of limitations -- being able to sink those FTs, giving up a lot of turnovers, and having no one with a good outside shot, are just some of the many. I am just proud that even with these limitations, they still play well. I do not think the team is olats. I do not think that they are bobo. For some who just consider the outcome of a basketball game, the case may be so. But I watched their games and saw the many times that they came from behind. I saw how they challenged and even beat Final Four contenders. I saw their heart and will to win in every game. The team definitely plays well, I can say that. And the players are definitely not losers.

So for those who were asking if UP was a Pretender or a Contender in Season 68, then I would answer with much conviction that the team was a Contender. UP MBT's 3-0 start and 5th place finish wasn't just luck, it was more of heart.

For that, I and I'm sure a lot of Maroon fans, are very, very proud.

Next season, babawi tayo. Humanda sila.

*photo  by Ditoy Aguila taken from http://www.uaapgames.com/images/082505a/pages/IMG_0578_jpg.htm