Tuesday, September 11, 2007

maroons

i'm a basketball freak. i think everyone whom has come to know me knows that. i live and breathe the game. i'm this guy who could talk about it all day. i play when i have time. i watch basketball shows. i am begging God to please give me cable tv so i could watch basketball games more often. when summer or sembreak comes, i come out every morning and shoot the lights out of our court (ok i admit it, my friends and i have ruined 2 nets because of shooting too much).

so here i am, a basketball crazy guy, wanting to talk about my school's team, the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons Senior Men's Basketball Team.

i've been watching games of the UAAP since 2002. back then people practically worshipped wesley gonzales and enrico villanueva from Ateneo versus the Mike Cortez and Ren-Ren Ritualo show in
La Salle.

now all of the players of then are now in the PBA.

what about me? well, i was watching Jino Ferrer, Toti Almeda, Nestor David, Abi Santos, Jireh Ibanez and Marvin Cruz will my favorite school to win games. really, life is hard for UP. as a fellow Isko, i too am being subjected to arduous torture, freakishly short deadlines, endless activities and terrorist professors every single day. now these guys, well aside from those mentioned above, also worry about team strategy, the Xs and Os, and the big guns of the other schools. they had a coach (whom i cannot remember if it was Lito Vergara or not) who supported them and raised hell whenever they were messing it up at the court. the team was good, but they always came up short to qualify for the Final Four.

fast forward a few years. i am now a junior in UP. i've practically seen it all of what the school can offer. and now what happens to the Maroons? here we are, strapped with a whole bunch of kids who play well individually, but can't play well as a team.

where do we stand right now? we are here, in the lowest of lows. where we can't even look at the eyes of our schoolmates and co-constituents while singing our school hymn.

yes Ateneo alumni, i agree with what the lady on my right said during the ending ceremonies of our little game.

"we don't need your fucking applause."

The Maroons have become a running gag in the UAAP. are we proud to have a 0-13 win-loss record? i don't think so. I think all of us here are freaking tired of losing. Who wants to get used to losing? Not fucking me. Not anyone inside the UP community.

How many times has our beloved team come up short for a win? The closest one was the game with FEU, the team with potential ROY winner Marnel Baracael. We led that game 80% of the time, then we collapsed.

No more excuses. I want a win on Saturday against Adamson. Fuck the politics. Screw the point shaving and the gambling of games. Stop the pointing of the fingers. No one wants this “sweep” of ours. Let us deny Adamson a season 70 sweep. Their only win this season came at our expense. Let us return the favor shall we?

Let me say something that may produce a ring to your ears. The UP Fighting Maroons are good. Really? Yeah, they really are. INDIVIDUALLY that is.

Imagine this, have you seen these guys play a good quarter? Have you seen these guys spill their blood out on the court just to put points across the board? Have you seen them dive for those loose balls? Have you seen them clawing their way through thicker and bigger guys to get offensive rebounds?

I’ve seen them do that, and more. We are, and can actually, able to win games from any school save UE. Oh wait, no I’m taking that one back. WE CAN WIN AGAINST ANY FUCKING SCHOOL IN THE UAAP. PERIOD.

A step behind, a step too slow, a step too late. That has been the case of our players whose feet are too big to move around the court.

I’m cutting the slack for these guys right now, because they are receiving more flak and criticism than they should deserve. Come on haters from our school, stop pointing those fingers at people. What they need from us is our support. Not some dissin and trashtalk from you.

And for the players who represent our school, just hear what I’m going to say to you:

Mike Gamboa – you’re a good guy Mike. Tama yung anak kong si Bea, magaling ka nga. The comparisons to Marvin Cruz are well deserved. If you want the school to win, stop giving the ball to the opposition. Four turnovers a game? How many of those were on errant passes? Come on man, look before you pass. And stop poking the ball. Hindi lahat ng tao masusundutan mo ng bola. Try and play honest defense man. Naiiwan ka lang ng bantay mo pag sundot ka ng sundot e. And try not to force your way into the paint. You don’t want to miss a whole year like Marvin Cruz with an ACL do you? And oh, can you shoot the ball better next year? If you wanna be Marvin Cruz, heed my advice, improve your shot. Remember man, Marvin Cruz is the one you wanna emulate here. Not Japs Cuan.

Migs De Asis – “the assassin” eh? Yeah, for a while in your rookie year, you were. Betcha don’t know what an uncontested shot feels like. Look at your game man, a hand in your face every time you shoot. And in a fadeaway? You’re not Kobe or Michael, come on! Why not try and copy Reggie Miller for one? Make liberal use of screens. Cut fast, and cut hard. You have a big body Migs. Hasn’t it come to you to use that tank like body of yours? Konting gulang pa pare. You’ve managed to floor Chris Tiu last year (my favorite Migs de Asis highlight), certainly you can do it again right? At wag pikon. Man, you are the 1st player I’ve ever seen draw 2 fouls within 30 seconds. Try to keep your cool.

Woody Co – wow, anlaki mo pala sa personal. And you can shoot man. Really. Ano bang pwede kong sabihin sa yo? Well, the point shaving controversy got me somewhere and I thought, you’re freakin rich pare. Ano yun? Sana di totoo yun di ba? Just play the way you play. Good things come to those who work hard.

Jayfelson Agbayani – pare nakakatuwa ka maglaro. Lakas mo magcut, masipag ka sa depensa, mahilig ka sa ilalim ng ring. Tama yun. A few effective post moves should do the trick. Nestor David material ka tsong, galingan mo pa.

Veejay Serios – along with Martin Reyes and Woody Co, you my man are one of the most productive players in UP. Too bad your unbridled effort goes together with a L. I hope you continue what you do for the years to come. Sana di pa totoo na last year mo na to sa UP. You’re a very vital piece for the Final Four bid.

Martin Reyes – I was blinded by the brilliance of Migs de Asis back in your rookie year, yet now in the long run, you have shown the consistency that everybody loves. Allan Caidic-esque shooting, a fellow lefty jumpshooter like me (ehem) with the length to match. Like what I said earlier, use more screens, cut hard and be aggressive. I’d love to see you going strong to the basket.

Mark Lopez – was I hallucinating? The first time I saw you I thought Jason Castro transferred from PCU to UP. But then it wasn’t the case. You’re built and strong man. The only thing I wished you could have is better ballhandling skills. For me Mark Lopez bringing the ball up court is like a turnover waiting to happen. Don’t let the defenses abuse you man. And don’t overdribble.

For the rest of the UP players whose names I have not mentioned, try to play honest defense and contest shots and deny passes. And make the most of your time on the court.

A special mention to Coach Joe Lipa:

I really don’t know what you are up to, but I hate your player rotation. You see, for me it isn’t good to take out a player who is shooting well on the floor and putting him on the bench to cool off. Really, that’s not good.

On the brighter side, I wonder what would happen if the real you showed up. You know, the former you. The spunky, hot-headed, animated and passionate coach you once were. Obviously, I think you’re not really playing to win right now. You’re not coaxing players to play at their best. This isn’t practice Coach Joe, and if you want us to win, we’re going to need every bit of help we could get. I wonder if you’d still be around next season when the UP Centennial hits. Maybe you have a grand plan for that, but too bad, you were giving up all hope for this season.

You’re the only coach who has gifted us of a UAAP basketball title, and I believe you could do that again next year. But I would have liked you to use this season as a preparation for next year, not as an opportunity for us to be laughed at and bullied around by others.

Thus my rant is now complete. Wooh, haba rin nun a.
Good luck to us all.
U-niber-Sidad ng Pilipinas!
Go! UP FIGHT!

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