by Waylon Galvez
Game Today (Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City)
3:30 p.m. – Adamson vs UP
A week after celebrating its first Final Four appearance in more than two decades, University of the Philippines returns to action hoping to earn another accolade.
The third seeded Fighting Maroons face twice-to-beat No. 2 Adamson Falcons in their semifinal game today in the 81st UAAP men’s basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The lone game is set at 3:30 p.m., with Adamson hoping to end the series and enter the best-of-three finals for the first time since 1992.
The last time a UP squad played a Final Four match was on Oct. 4, 1997 when the Maroons lost to the Far Eastern University Tamaraws, 72-67, in the deciding game for the right to face La Salle in the Finals.
This season, UP finished the elimination round tied with FEU and De La Salle with similar 8-6 cards, but claimed an outright Final Four slot with a superior quotient, ending 21 years of disappointing campaigns and the tag ‘whipping boys’ of the UAAP.
At one point during that period, the UP community even celebrated a win by the Fighting Maroons that snapped the school’s 27-game losing skid with a bonfire at the campus back in 2014.
Tears flowed among UP players and team staff as well as students, alumni and supporters when UP finally did make it to the semifinals with a win against DLSU, 97-81, last Nov. 14.
UP head coach Bo Perasol, who was likewise emotional following that victory against DLSU, said that all that is now behind them as focus is on their semifinal game against a very tough Adamson squad that swept the Katipunan-based team in the elimination round.
“We know what we are up to,” said Perasol, a former UP team captain during his playing years in the early 90s. “Adamson is a solid team, they have the experience and tools to compete.”
“But as I’ve told the players, we’ve reached this far in our campaign so we’ll give it our best. Who knows, maybe we can extend it to a sudden-death semifinals,” added Perasol, whose team is on a three-game win streak capped with that triumph versus La Salle.
In the two wins of Adamson against UP, it was Sean Manganti who delivered the winning basket for a 69-68 win in the first round and then Jerrick Ahanmisi scored 24 points in an 80-72 win in the second round.
The two, who missed the team’s final game against FEU last Sunday, will return to action and are expected to provide leadership alongside Cameroonian Papi Sarr at center spot.
Adamson coach Franz Pumaren has mentioned that going 0-2 against UP is not a guarantee that things will be easy – not when it’s the Final Four where anything can happen.
UP has soon-to-be named season MVP Bright Akhuetie, and a solid backcourt powered by Paul Desidero and Jun Manzo, as well as the brothers Juan and Javy Gomez de Liano.
