By Tito S. Talao
About three weeks before University of the Philippines completed a head-spinning rise from the depths of UAAP men’s basketball and before the Fighting Maroons’ epic showdowns with the Adamson Falcons in the Final Four, the chief architect of UP’s 1986 championship, Joe Lipa, was in his living room at a condominium in Parañaque giving his surgically-structured knees a rest when his phone rang.
It was Ricky Dandan, Lipa’s former UP player before the Fighting Maroons buried the ghosts of back-to-back championship losses in the UAAP – against University of the East in 1982 and Far Eastern in 1983.
With him, Dandan said, was Bo Perasol, another UP standout who now coached the struggling Fighting Maroons and the two had an unusual request.
Apparently the UP team was practicing at the gym a few floors down and Dandan asked his old coach if he was strong enough to drop by.
Lipa said all right and so he was rolled into the gym on a wheelchair and watched Paul Desiderio and company scrimmage – something Lipa hadn’t done in a long time.
At the conclusion of practice, Lipa was asked if he could say a few words.
Yesterday afternoon over the phone, after the Fighting Maroons had dealt the Falcons an 89-87 overtime loss to advance to the best-of-3 finals against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, Lipa recalled what he had said: “Gentlemen, I’m honored to be speaking to a team that is destined for greatness.”
Needless to say, the Fighting Maroons made Joe Lipa a prophet.
“I couldn’t make it to the game, but I shouted myself hoarse watching on TV,” said Lipa, laughing. “It was a great game where both teams played their guts out and worked very hard. The technical, motivational and leadership aspects were of the highest level and it was worthy of a knockout semifinal match.”
His knee problems would most likely force him to skip the finals, although his “UP brods” – guys like former PBA governor JB Baylon – have vowed, Lipa said, to carry him on his wheelchair, if necessary, to bring him to the Mall of Asia Arena, venue for the championship.
Having coached the Blue Eagles from 1999-2001, Lipa was asked if he was in any way conflicted when the two schools he had handled before meet.
“I’m UP’s No. 1 fan, if not its biggest fan. And I think the Ateneo community will not take it against me if I say my heart is for
UP in this championship,” he said.
Lipa qualified though: UP made me a better man although Ateneo made me a better Christian.”
