Maroons lose to Eagles; bad officiating highlight Ateneo's third quarter run

Silungan's block on Slaughter in the first half

UP MBT Game #8- vs ADMU, August 25 @ MOA Arena

WARNING: 

This post is not in any way a summary of game highlights. I will rant in this post even more than the game we lost against FEU (non-call on a golatend by Anthony Hargrove) because it was the referees that beat us in this game and not Ateneo. If you're an Eagles fan, I don't have any explaining to do to you. It was evident that the referees did us in and you badly needed their help against us.

But first here are some tweets I gathered from Twtter and probably can give a background on what happened in this game. Here it goes:

Amidst all the distractions, the inept officiating, we still had them. Wasted opportunities; hate losing when Ateneo didn't do shit to us. - from UP Assistant Coach Mark Dandan's twitter account (@_coachmark)
 

I'm all for Ateneo winning, but not when it comes from the refs. Not like this. Bad calls everywhere against UP. It's shameful. - Raf Camus, an Ateneo fan's twitter post (@cavemancamus)

 

Eh parang lumalabas, takot lahat sa Peyups. #subomonalangpitomowalakanamansilbi ("subo mo na lang pito mo wala ka naman silbi" hastag) - another tweet by Mark Dandan pertaining to the refs who "called" the game (@_coachmark)

 

Chef or ref ba nagcall ng game? Grabe magluto eh. -__-#UPvsADMU - Irish Planes of UP Pep (@irishplanes)

 

@coachbien31 Refs? Chefs! Shets. - AJ Lelis of UP CMC (@itsajlelis)

 

@feesteeiskra to the refs talaga noh? - Trish Roque, TV 5 reporter and former UP courtside girl (@trish_roque)

 

@trish_roque ang daya talaga! Panalo dapat UP. Seryoso. Ngayon lang ako naging super bitter sa isang loss. - UP CMC alum and Meg Magazine Associate Editor (@feesteeiskra)

 

3 point lead to 9 (6 FTs on questionable calls) Ateneo should thank the refs here. Calls are fucking messed up. Refs deciding the game - one of my rant tweets while watching the game live at the MOA Arena. Can you imagine what I was shouting to the refs and how loud I was? More on that later (@coachbien31)

 

THE RANTING CONTINUES...
 

I arrived at the scene of the crime around two minutes left in the first half because I had a battle with Saturday traffic going to the venue that I really don't want to recall right now. I also had to miss my high school batch's alumni league game because I had a good feeling that UP will start their second round run today at the expense of the defending champs.

 

True enough I was treated to a great show by the Fighting Maroons as they raced to an early lead in the first quarter (found that out through Twitter) and ended the first half with a Mike Silungan booming triple over Greg Slaughter and the Maroons up 34-32. Silungan also registered two blocks in this half highlighted by his rejection of Slaughter's fastbreak attempt (see picture above).

 

UP was in such high spirits in today's game, the boys had that look in their eyes that said they will not be denied. The UP community was going all-out in the venue, cheering for the State U boys and booing the Eagles every time they went down their side of the court.

 

Also, UP was doing a great job even with the absence of their starting center Chris Ball, who the coaching staff decided to sit out for this game due to his eligibility issues (according to some friends from the UP coaching staff he'll be OK to play the next games after this one).
 
After a superb performance by the UP Pep Squad at halftime I was ready to cheer for my team even more. I was feeling it all over me, we will emerge winners in this game.
 
Then the referees did their "job."
 
Slaughter, who was limited to nine points the whole game and a bad first half started crying and pleading to the referees about the physical defense Maroon big man Alinko Mbah was giving him.
 
No problem, the referees said.
 
Mbah was quickly sent to the bench with three consecutive fouls bringing his total to four halfway in the third.
 
He was eventually replaced by rookie JR Gallarza who prior to the game tweeted that he will dedicate all his minutes in this game to a brother who just died (condolences again bro). Gallarza did just fine. His inspired play together with undersized power forward Diony Hipolito was somehow enough to stay in striking distance with the Eagles who have taken the lead due to all the fouls and freethrows being called against the Maroons.  
 
Ateneo's lead was just three with about a minute left in the quarter when referee #6 called a foul on UP pointguard Jelo Montecastro for boxing out Nico Elorde. The coaching staff definitely did not like the call and the refs gave them a technical foul for complaining. They award two freethrows to Elorde, another two technical FTs to Tonino Gonzaga and ball possession. You can just imagine how mad I and the whole UP community was after what has just transpired.
 
They weren't finished.
 
In the ensuing possession, the same motherfucking referee called a foul on Montecastro's challenge to Gonzaga's three. The contact was clearly done after the release of the shot and Gonzaga did an acting job to sell the call to the incompetent referee.
 
Gonzaga makes two out of three and the lead ballooned from three to nine in just a matter of seconds for the Eagles. A basket by UP team captain Mark Lopez cut it to seven to end the third, 53-46 in favor of Ateneo.
 

Asilum poured in all of his 10 points in the second half

I wasn't really interested in the game's outcome anymore.
 
I knew these refs were gonna let Ateneo win by hook or by crook. 

I even shouted the following cuss words to those referees. I made sure the whole arena was able to hear me and wanted the Ateneo faithful to hear them more.

"Tangina mo ref hindi chess yan, basketball yan. Pwedeng may contact, GAGO!!!"
 
I also shouted, "Tangina ka Slaughter, 7-footer ka iyak ka ng iyak, bakla ka." Only to realize that he didn't understand anything I said (LOL).


Still the UP alumni and students beside me were laughing at my jokes about how stupid the referees were and how Ateneo probably paid their way into this game to ensure a win.
 
UP tried making a comeback courtesy of rookies Raul Soyud and Henry Asilum's play in the end game but still wasn't enough to chase the lead the refs giftwrapped for Ateneo.
 
In the end, the Maroons had to settle for another setback to start the second round, a 73-66 loss to the defending champs who didn't even look like defending champs in this game.
 
I even had a friend from Ateneo who tweeted prior to the start of the game that this will be a boring game and the Eagles would win with probably a lopsided margin. Clearly he doesn't know a thing about the UP Maroons this season.
 
So there you go, that was how the story went.

Coach Mark Dandan was right, Ateneo didn't even do shit to us in this game.

It wasn't Ateneo who beat us here, they can't even say they beat us fair and square in this game.
  
For Ateneo, let them celebrate this win. I know though, at the back of their heads, that they were playing scared and were not the aggressors for this game. You would have never beaten us in this game without the inept officiating done by the refs.
 
For my State U boys, I salute you for all the honest effort and hardwork given every game.
 
Cleary our win-loss record does not indicate how good we are as a team.

In my honest opinion, I believe this UP squad is the most dangerous team in this league today. A team that is feared by all UAAP teams right now.
 
Tuloy lang ang laban, ISKOLAR NG BAYAN!
 
UP FIGHT!!!

UP breaks slump, trashes UE to end their first round campaign



UP barges into the win column after beating UE to end the first round

(UP MBT Game #7 - August 19, 2012 @ the Araneta Coliseum)

Finally. A win.

The UP community can breathe a sigh of relief after the Fighting Maroons gave the UE Red Warriors a spanking in the last game of the first round, 63-48.

The State U boys finally won after being part of games wherein they led but lost, they clawed back but still failed, could've won but a non-call affected the outcome or just plainly being beaten badly by the other team. The Maroons were never really threatened by the Warriors in this game save for a few stretches were UE tried to rally only to be doused by one UP run after another.

The Maroons were led by two players that were very much apart in terms of playing years but was quite equal in terms of having the will to win in this game. Fifth year and graduating player Mark Lopez and freshman rookie  Henry Asilum led UP's charge for most of the game.

Lopez made his presence felt every time he was inside the court, making life miserable for UE hotshot Roi Sumang, intercepting passes, rebounding against taller Warriors and hitting his jumpshots. Asilum on the other hand started slow and was scoreless after playing just seven minutes in the first half. He immediately picked up the slack in the second half scoring his game high 14 points and effectively facilitating the UP offense.

Lopez provided hustle and consistency all game for UP

Overall though, it was the Maroons' consistency in hustling and defending better for the whole game that made them win against the Red Warriors. One surprise performance for this game came form UP forward Diony Hipolito, primarily a defender, who scored an efficient nine points via short stabs and mid-range jumpers.

UP led 14-11 to end the first quarter and continued their scrambling defense in the second when they went up by six points forcing UE coach Jerry Codinera to call a timeout with five and half left and the score at 22-16. The Maroons had a line-up of Asilum, Alvin Padilla, Robby Wierzba, Hipolito and Alinko Mbah during the stretch and was rewarded with the four points in the paint and four points off of UE turnovers.

The Warriors unleashed a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to a single point but Lopez and Jelo Montecastro teamed up for a 4-0 blast to pad the lead again at 26-21. Both teams made 4-0 runs until the last seconds of the first half when UP's Chris Ball was called for a foul after Sumang had apparently lost control of the ball already and with UP up, 30-25. Sumang splits his charities to make it 30-26 at the break.

Ball started the third quarter with a jumpshot but Sumang answered with an and-one conversion. Asilum would get his first basket but UE would score three more points to cut the lead to only two, 34-32. This was when Asilum decided to show the UP fans what he can actually do.

Asilum showed that he got game

The kid from Cebu showcased a personal 7-0 run that featured a three-pointer, a fastbreak lay-up off a steal and a putback to put the Maroons ahead, 41-32. The quarter featured more UE turnovers and several missed freethrows that could've brought them back in the game. Mike Silungan hit his only field goal, a three point shot from the corner, when UE was threatening to make another comeback. Sumang finally hits a freethrow to end the quarter for a 50-41 count going into the fourth.

UP increased their lead to 12 with nine minutes left in the game after a Paolo Romero freethrow and an Mbah running hook. The offense became anemic for both teams after that as they were unable to score until the 4:40 left in the game when Asilum made a freethrow for a 54-41 count.

UE made a last ditch effort to win the game when Pedrito Galanza hit a three and Sumang converted on a drive, 54-46 in favor of UP. However, the Maroons showed composure en route to their first win as Ball, Hipolito and Asilum would conspire on a game winning 9-2 run to end the game.

At the post-game interview, UP coach Ricky Dandan were all praises for how his boys played in this game and that how this will transpire for a better second round for the Maroons. The team is already being compared to the last relevant UP Fighting Maroons squad that almost made the Final Four in Season 67 (the Toti Almeda led squad that was one win short of the playoffs after then DLSU coach Franz Pumaren was seen dining with the referees that called UP's last loss that eliminated them from contention. This was apparently before that game against La Salle).

To do another remarkable run though, they have to make sure they learn from their past mistakes and play their hearts out every game. They should remain true to their fighting monicker and in the end, win the game.

If there is a team that can do this so-called "miracle" look no further than the boundaries of the UP Campus in Diliman.


Notes:
UP breaks a 15-game slump dating back from last season after they surprisingly beat FEU
UP led at the end of all quarters of the game and all 12 players fielded for UP scored.
UP won the turnover points battle, 18-0.
Asilum statline- 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals
Lopez statline- 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists
Sumang statline- 18 points, seven rebounds

(Credits to the website for the watermarked photos)

Maroons remain winless after tiff versus Tigers

UP MBT Game # 6 - August 15, 2012 (Araneta Coliseum)

The UP Fighting Maroons tried going toe-to-toe with the UST Growling Tigers for most of the game but ended up losing their sixth straight, 68-58, in the 75th season of the UAAP Men's Basketball Tournament. 

Karim Abdul showcased all-around brilliance except for some unforced turnovers that were by-products of his overly aggressive play for the whole game. He finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in leading UST to it's first ever five-game winning streak in the Pido Jarencio era.

 

Adding to UP's misfortunes is the fact that the other previously winless team, University of the East, barged into the win column earlier in the day via win over the Alex Nuyles-less Adamson University.

 

UP started the game with a familiar fab five that started against Ateneo with Henry Asilum at pointguard, Mark Lopez and Alvin Padilla at the wings and Raul Soyud and Chris Ball manning the paint. The result was different one though.

 

UP started slow and wasn't that efficient offensively. They had three bad passes that resulted to fastbreak opportunities for UST, luckily Mike Silungan was able to deny two of the three. Still, the Maroons were within striking distance as they ended the first quarter down by just one, 16-15. Asilum led the way with six points (both on three pointers) while the Tigers were bannered by Kim Lo's six markers as well.

 

It was a different story for UP in the second quarter though as they came out of their huddle all fired up unleashing a 9-2 run that had them leading 24-18 after an Alinko Mbah fastbreak score. UST's first field goal of the period came at the 6:15 mark when Tata Bautista converted on a breakaway lay-up.

 

The Tigers were able to claw back in the game and tie it at 26-all after Jeric Fortuna drove to the basket against Lopez. It got crazy after both teams both made 4-0 mini-runs and the score standing at 30-all with 1:30 left. Asilum and Bautista then figured in a "what you can do I can do better" sequence hitting threes against each other pegging the count at 33-all at the half. Rookie Asilum led UP at the half with nine points, on three treys.

 

Both teams' performance for the first half were almost identical as UST posted a 39% field goal percentage while UP converted 38%. The Tigers were 9/10 from the line, while UP was 4/4. UP had the advantage (surprisingly) in the points in the paint 18-12.  Their assist totals were also equal at eight.

 

It was a slug-it-out third quarter with Louie Vigil hitting back-to-back baskets for a 37-33 lead early in the third. At around three minutes left in the quarter, the scored was tied again after Melo Afuang hit a freethrow at 43-all. The Tigers unleashed a 7-2 run to end the third, 50-45, with UST's last basket coming off a Julius Wong turnover.

 

UP, true to its fighting monicker, fought back again in the fourth quarter courtesy of Silungan's twin triples. They were even at the thick of things trailing just 55-54 with around four minutes left. However,  Abdul and Bautista conspired on a 7-0 run to seal UP's fate, 62-54 with 1:17 remaining in the game. Bautista sealed the scoring at 68-58 with an uncalled for buzzer beater.

 

After the game, the UST coaching staff were all smiles as they believe they pulled off the win despite a lackluster performance. Jarencio was also wary of how dangerous this UP team is and was happy to continue their winning ways.

 

UP on the other hand was overpowered in the paint at the second half after fighting gallantly in the first. Abdul and his crew were practically lording the boards over the hapless Maroons.

 

Silungan and Lopez led the way for State U with 10 points apiece. Bautista played second fiddle to Abdul with 12 markers.

 

The Tigers look to finish the first round at the top of the standings as they tangle with the Falcons on Sunday. The Maroons will try to win one to end their first round campaign against the Red Warriors on the same playdate.

 

Notes:

Vigil was a makeshift starter again with Jeric Teng (UST) still resting his strained MCL

Mike Gamboa (UP) was inactive because he was recovering from flu

Aljon Mariano, Bautista and Kevin Ferrer all came off the bench for UST (Fortuna, Lo, Vigil, Afuang and Abdul were the starters).

UP robbed of first win after controversial non-call favored FEU

Hargrove, hanging on the rim after a slam dunk, figured in a goaltending non-call late in the game

(Warning, this is not the usual detailed post-game analysis I blog about for the UP Fighting Maroons on a per-game basis, but rather one where I just had to rant about a controversial goaltending non-call by the referees that cost us the game. And yes, I think that goaltending call trended in Twitter for some time yesterday)


UP MBT Game #5- versus FEU (August 5, 2012 @ the MOA Arena)

I'm feeling a lot of mixed emotions right now.


Maybe that's the reason why it took me so long to post my usual UP post-game analysis. I was so frustrated that I did not even watch a single minute of the Adamson-NU game that came after our match versus FEU. I wanted to write my account of the game today but I was just too mad to do so.

I also made sure that the Internet (particularly social media) gave a complete take of what cost UP their first win of the season - that mother-effin goaltending non-call on Diony Hipolito's shot by Anthony Hargrove. 

I was such in high spirits on the way to the Mall of Asia Arena on a very rainy Sunday afternoon. I even brought my youngest sister Nikki along as a lucky charm and thought that maybe after their good performance against Ateneo last Thursday, UP might pull off win number one today.

We met my friend Carlos Pascual at the venue and saw some familiar faces, all UP faithful. And we were all eager to witness that breakthrough win today.

UP lived up to it's monicker of fighting until the very end after FEU posted big leads ranging from nine to 15 at different points in the game. UP had an answer to all FEU scoring blitzes led by Terrence Romeo and Mike Tolomia, working hard on both ends of the floor and slowly but surely trimming that Tamarraw lead down even until the end of the game.

Notable performances came from the likes of Mark Lopez, Alvin Padilla and Chris Ball who were carrying the load for State U in the last four games on both ends of the floor. But what was surprising were the good games played by big man transferee Raul Soyud and team captain Mike Silungan. Both players played their heart out on the court and gave their best in trying to get that elusive first win.

There was even a skirmish in the playing court at the third quarter after Arvie Bringas of FEU literally dropped himself in a jumpball situation in between Raul Soyud and Hargrove. This was just among the many interesting things that happened in today's game.

However, there was no other play that made more noise than that controversial goaltending non-call that happened in front of where I was seated.  I was among those who made sure that the referees were made aware of their mistakes. I was calling out and literally cursing the officials for not blowing their whistles and making the right call.

Missing the call at such a crucial stage in the game was just fine.  The officials can now actually review plays to make the correct call. Besides, these refs are human right?

WRONG! THEY ARE NOT HUMANS (OK that's a bit too harsh, maybe I'll just call them blind or worse, nabayaran?).

What angered me (and the UP community watching) more was that the instant replays clearly showed that Hargrove blocked Hipolito's shot after it had hit the cylinder and was on its way down the basket. Coach Ricky Dandan was actually pleading his case as he obviously was very frustrated with the non-call.

If that was a valid goaltending non-call shouldn't they have just issued technical fouls for the whole UP bench after excessive complaining to that particular call? That would've made sense right? But they didn't, hence, they did make a mistake. A very big mistake.

I really felt bad not just for the UP Fighting Maroons Men's basketball team but for the whole UP community watching this game as well.

This was supposed to be our first win. I felt it and everyone else was feeling it. FEU actually wasn't able to make a field goal in the last eight minutes of the game. Even they too were feeling it, the pressure. And this hardworking, underrated team was well on it's way to upset them today.

Prior to this game, three out of four losses of the Maroons were close ones. They lost their opener to DLSU by five (led by one point in the final minute), to Adamson by two (came back from 20 points down) and Ateneo by six (had a 10 point lead in the third quarter). Their only blowout loss was a 17-point beatdown by NU. Those three close games were actually winnable games and you can include this one as well.

It's painful to see your team go down, whether after having led most of the game then crumbling in the end or slowly trimming down a big lead yet succumbing at the last second.

However, it's a lot more painful if you knew that it wasn't just the opposing team that beat you, it was someone else (in this case, the referees) that helped beat you in the end.  

I just hope that the UAAP board takes a look at this instance (with or without a formal protest filed) in order to make sure that these incidents won't happen again and affect future game results.

Before I end my very long rant I would like to share a page that collated most UAAP players' take on the controversial goaltending non-call:

http://storify.com/urzafailure/was-up-robbed-twitter-thinks-so

See? Even Jeric Fortuna and Jeric Teng of UST as well as Ateneans Justin Chua and Bacon Austria agree that the right call wasn't made.

To UAAP Commisioner Ado Badolato, I have no idea how this post will reach you, but please open your eyes to this issue and make sure you do everything in your power to bring justice to what transpired in this game. Thank you.

Fighting Maroons start strong, falter late against the Blue Eagles

Starting rookie pointguard Henry Asilum proved to be a good move for Coach Dandan

UP MBT Game #4 - versus Ateneo (August 2, 2012 @ the Araneta Coliseum)

ENDGAME POISE.

This was the message coach Ricky Dandan gave his boys before the start of the game against Ateneo and was echoed by UP courtside reporter Bea Fabregas in her pre-game report.

Two of UP's three losses would have actually gone the other way had they displayed the poise their coach was talking about. UP's most recent loss, a two-point heartbreaker against Adamson.

However, the Maroons were not able to deliver on this message as they surrendered a lead as big as 10 in the early stages of the third quarter and lost to the Eagles, 76-70

The game was delayed for about 30 minutes as the shot clock was having technical difficulties. The game just started after both Dandan and Norman Black gave their go-signal to continue with the game with a manual shot clock until a replacement was available in the seond half.

The first installment of the Battle of Katipunan looked different as it was UP displaying energy and hustle at the start of the game. The starting five of Henry Asilum, Alvin Padilla, Mark Lopez, Raul Soyud and Chris Ball worked well  together and gave Ateneo a run for their money in the first quarter.

Starting pointguard Juami Tiongson was not available for the Eagles today as he was down with the flu. Transferee Nico Elorde took his place in the starting line-up with Nico Salva, Greg Slaughter, Kiefer Ravena and Tonino Gonzaga.

Ball (doing his best LaMarcus Aldridge impersonation) started the scoring for the Maroons with a long two and eventually top scored with six points (all on mid-range shots) at the end of the quarter, 19-17 for UP. Soyud chipped in four while Asilum had a triple to carry the scoring for the Maroons.  Ateneo had five turnovers in this quarter compared to only one by UP.

The second quarter was as sloppy for the Eagles as the first. Unforced turnovers were evident as UP racked up fastbreak points with Jelo Montecastro and Mike Silungan converting one lay-up each.

The Maroons second quarter unit on the other hand which consisted of Silungan, Montecastro, Alinko Mbah, Paolo Romero and Padilla were not as effective offensively as the starting five. Ateneo was able to tie the score a number of times in the quarter but was still unable to take the lead.

Coach Dandan decided to bring back Asilum, Ball and Soyud to provide scoring. The trio of rookies quickly conjured a 7-0 run to put UP ahead 34-27. Ball started the run with a surprise three-pointer and then Soyud had a tip-in. Ball then blocked Slaughter's lay-up attempt that led to Asilum's booming transition three.

Ball capped his 11 first half points with an athletic follow-up of a Soyud miss, and UP took a 40-32 halftime lead. This is the first time this season that UP has led during the break. Ateneo was not able to score a three point basket in six attempts while UP was a sizzling hot three out of four in the first half.

The second half was a different story with Salva and Slaughter playing better

In the third quarter, coach Dandan made that weird tweak with his line-up again by starting Diony Hipolito at power forward. Mike Gamboa, Padilla, Lopez and Mbah rounded up the third quarter starters for the Maroons.

Padilla was able to score the first basket of the third quarter on an up-and-under against Slaughter, but that was just about it as the Eagles woke up from their first quarter slumber and played with more efficient offense and better defense along the way.

At the 7:52 mark of the third, the Eagles were just down by four points 43-39, after a Greg Slaughter and-one conversion.  Not helping the Maroons cause was foul trouble, as their most efficient player Ball went out with three fouls with five and a half remaining.

Salva was able to tie the game at 47-all with a hook shot in the 5:06 mark. It was a wild sequence of  lead changes and ties from there as Gamboa answers with a three, Salva ties with an and-one again, Romero hits a jumper and Slaughter making two freethrows for a 52-all deadlock.

Gamboa then drove at the basket for a 54-52 advantage then Oping Sumalinog uncorks an open three from the corner for Ateneo's first taste of the lead, 55-54.  Gamboa answers again with another trey for a 57-55 cushion, the last lead UP will ever hold in this game. Slaughter ties it again at 57-all with a short stab.

Salva and Slaughter punched in two more points each for a 61-57 lead going into the fourth. Ateneo outscored UP, 29-17 in this quarter.

Ravena opens the fourth quarter hostilities with another and-one over the smaller Asilum, flexing his muscle literally after the conversion just like what Salva did in the third. Another and-one by Ryan Buenafe (no there was no muscle flex on his part fortunately) gave the Eagles a 67-58 advantage with 5:58 left, prompting coach Dandan to call a timeout.

Lopez's triple with 5:05 left broke the scoring drought for the Maroons after converting only on a freethrow early in the fourth quarter. Then Slaughter answers with a short stab for a 69-61 lead.

Padilla was able to trim the lead to five after another three-pointer with 3:40 remaining, 69-64. However, Sumalinog was able to seal the deal for the Eagles after another trey, a steal on Silungan and converting on two freethrows. Silungan played miserably the whole game, scored just two points and was subbed out by Asilum after his foul on Sumalinog and the score at 74-64.

Now a moral victory is not enough for the Maroons at this stage of the season as they are already down 0-4 in the standings. Whether it was the technical difficulty that could have proved fatal for Ateneo and advantageous for them or the countless three-point plays with ugly Ateneo flexes after that may have seem intimidating, this should have been a Maroons' first victory that should've shocked the UAAP world.

I guess coach Dandan should emphasize the endgame poise more as the Maroons this time started real strong but finished the game in mediocre fashion. Unlike their previous ones that had them coming back from big leads and eventually losing in the end.

The wins will come, I am convinced that this is not another 0-14 season for UP as these Maroons have shown a lot of promise in the games they played this season.

The only question is when.