By Jerome Lagunzad
Games Tomorrow (Mall of Asia Arena)
2 p.m. – UE vs La Salle
4 p.m. – UST vs Adamson
When he got a hold of the leather after veteran forward Gelo Vito turned it over infront of their bench, University of the Philippines coach Bo Perasol slammed it with force, perhaps expressing his utter disgust.
It might have been a surprise reaction from one of the mild mannered coaches in the collegiate ranks, but the pressure – and frustration – is starting to build up on Perasol especially with the way the Fighting Maroons are unraveling in the UAAP Season 80 basketball tournament.
“Nakakapagod kasi ‘yung when you lose and then you don’t get accountability,” he admitted, trying his best to calm himself down following UP’s crucial 73-64 loss – its fifth in its last six matches – to resurgent University of the East last Sunday night.
“I wanted them to feel that when you lose a game, you have to be accountable about it. You have to own up into the chances that are being given to you. That’s the point of the character-building that I wanted to share with my players.”
After scoring a monumental 98-87 upset of defending champion La Salle barely a month ago and gaining a panoramic view as one of the pacesetters, UP suddenly crumbled like a deck of cards and continued to lose more ground for a Top 4 finish.
Things won’t get any easier for the Fighting Maroons since they are bracing themselves for a tough stretch, all against familiar Final Four contenders, starting against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We really missed our chance to tie into that fourth place,” lamented Perasol as UP slipped into a tie with National University at fifth spot with a 4-6 mark, half-a-game behind No. 4 FEU. “And it’s going to be very difficult this coming four games, knowing that we will be up against the stronger programs.”
Instead of improving, Perasol feels the Fighting Maroons, as high as their potential is, have been regressing in terms of their collective performance. And it’s been evident when they turned the ball over 23 times and shot just 32.4 percent (25-of-77) from the field against the Red Warriors.
“It’s not about the wins or the losses because wins and losses are going to come. But the character-building that I want to share with my players are going to be lifelong,” stressed Perasol.
“And I want them to feel that whatever you do in life, you have to be accountable to it. If you fail, you cannot stop, but you have to own up to it. You cannot just say na ‘I failed, okay, but it doesn’t matter.’ Of course, it matters to the whole team, to the community, and to your coaches. So for those who are being given much, much is expected.”