By NIKOLE JAVIER
University of the Philippines battles La Salle with the Maroons hoping to answer all questions about their readiness to defend their treasured crown as the UAAP Season 84 starts on Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Tipoff is set at 4 p.m. with Gilas standout and last year’s top rookie Carl Tamayo, Finals MVP Malick Diouf, Zavier Lucero and JD Cagulangan ready to lead the Maroons against a team seeking revenge.
Host school Adamson is likewise looking for a winning start when it collides with University of Santo Tomas at 2 p.m. after the pre-recorded opening rites show.
UP, which beat La Salle in the semis last season, will be without Ricci Rivero and Noah Webb who have completed their playing years in the league. CJ Cansino will also be missed by the Maroons due to injury.
On the other end, De La Salle is looking confident despite losing prized main man Justine Baltazar to the pro league.
Evan Nelle, who saw their hard work come to fruition in the offseason, declared their readiness to climb to the top once again, even boldly predicting they will emerge No. 1 at the end of the season.
But that is easier said than done as practically all teams have prepared long and hard in their desire to topple the Maroons from their pedestal.
The Green Archers had a promising short offseason after their 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants Cup championship and 2022 Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup bronze medal.
UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde appears unperturbed despite the mounting pressure for them to clinch the school’s first back-to-back championship.
His concern for now is their game against La Salle.
“Right now, we’re really preparing for them and La Salle’s a very good team. Gano’n naman kami every time we go to a (new) season, we just take it as anong dumating and face the challenge,” said Monteverde.
With a new coach in former Ginebra star Bal David, the rebuilding UST Tigers are hoping to grab a piece of limelight in the opening day.
Focus will be on the sons of former PBA MVP Kenneth Duremdes – Kylle Magdangal and Kenji Duremdes who are out to dazzle their growing fans.