Fortune Favors the Fighters: UP claws their way back to victory after rough start against AdU

Fortune favors the bold; fortune favors the brave. But, as evidenced by Saturday’s game, in the direst of situations, fortune favors the fighters most of all. 

In a dramatic turn of events, the UP Men’s Basketball Team seized their fifth win straight from the claws of the Adamson Soaring Falcons. Undeterred by the bleak nature of the first half, the State U squad was able to regain their momentum and eventually clinch victory to maintain their spotless record in Season 87.

FIGHTING BACK

Photo by: Rizelle Lopez

Despite the absence of their usual form in the first quarter — where UP scored a measly nine points to Adamson’s 26 — there was not a hint of panic evident in the Fighting Maroons and head coach Goldwin Monteverde. 

“Sa team namin, we usually talk about how we respond sa mga challenges, and I believe na for this game we responded well,” expressed Monteverde in the post-game press conference. “Syempre sa UAAP you know, wala naman tayong team na dapat pabayaan […] all of the teams here are well coached, but sometimes games like this could happen. Good thing yung composure namin nandyan, and at least nag-respond kami ng mabuti.”

“Pag nasa middle ka ng game, di naman namin iniisip na baka manalo o baka matalo. We’re just, you know, staying [in] the present,” he added later. “Whatever we have to adjust as a team, each time out or each end of quarter, you know we’re [going to] talk about it […] whatever we talked about during our huddles, we responded well at maganda naman yung nangyari sa game na ‘to.”

Big Man Quentin Millora-Brown echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying that, “I thought that our first quarter, we came out a little stagnant, flat, couldn’t hit shots, wasn’t getting the stops on defense from the game plan that we had planned for.  But I thought that there was a great response for everyone to understand that our shots are [going to] come, and to just stay patient and ready for when the time came.”

GAME CHANGERS

Photo by: Rizelle Lopez

The shifting of the tides began with a well-timed three-pointer by rookie Jacob Bayla in Q2, bringing the score to 17-32 and leading UP into a run that eventually saw their deficit down to six at the half. The Maroons finally took over the lead, 34-33, at the 07:36 mark in Q3, after veteran JD Cagulangan scored a two-point jump shot.

This game also severed any doubts as to just how deep UP’s current roster is, with players coming off the bench contributing 73.9% of the team’s total points (51 of 69). Leading the charge was Harold Alarcon, who scored a total of 14 points, eight rebounds, and zero turnovers. Millora-Brown, who has continued to prove himself the Maroons’ best defender, tallied a second double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. 

But the man of the hour was none other than Terrence Fortea, who was named Player of the Game after delivering a perfect performance of 4-of-4 field goals and 2-of-2 free throws, contributing a total of 13 points and 5 rebounds.

Fortea’s first triple came off an assist by Francis Lopez in the third quarter, tying the game at 39-all. He proved to be an unstoppable force from that point forward, with him and Lopez repeating the play only minutes after to bring the score to 44-40 in favor of UP, then making good on an assist from team captain Gerry Abadiano to go three for three from behind the arc.

When asked where he sourced his confidence in making those gutsy shots, Fortea’s answer was none other than himself.

“Pina-practice ko rin naman yung mga tira na ‘yan,” he said. “Siguro kumpiyansa lang yun at tiwala lang sa sarili. Napag-usapan din namin yun na, ‘keep on pounding lang’ kahit ganun yung lamang ng kalaban namin.”

He also believes that his perfect shooting was a mere bonus to the team’s victory, stating that, “Actually ‘di lang naman ako yun. Siguro as a team, di lang kami tumigil. Bonus lang sa side ko na [na-shoshoot] mga tira ko, pero syempre as a team parin yun, kaya nakuha namin yung panalo.”

“Siguro nag-start sa bench, iniisip ko na yun,” Fortea added. “Pag binibigyan ako ni Coach ng chance pumasok, kailangan i-make the most of it yung minutes na ibibigay sa akin. ‘Yun masaya ako na kahit papano naibigay ko yung part ko sa game na ‘to.”

Monteverde also had nothing but praise for the bench players, emphasizing that whoever comes in will always try to execute to the best of their ability and contribute whatever they can to the greater team effort. 

“Ang team, yung tingin [namin], parang pamilya na ‘eh […] Let’s say yung first group namin was not doing well, at least we have each other’s back.”

MOVING FORWARD

Photo by: Marga Villena

With UP now alone at the top of the standings with a record of five wins and zero losses, the team is careful not to let this status get to their heads. 

“We’re not [going to] put our minds ‘dun sa undefeated situation,” stressed Monteverde. “Rather, we’re just [going to] tackle kung ano yung nasa harapan namin.”

As the tail end of the first round of eliminations draws closer, the Fighting Maroons’ next challenge will be the UST Growling Tigers (standing at #3) and the De La Salle Green Archers (standing at #2). Prior to their game against a newly-revived UST squad, both the coach and the players alike believe that it’s not about who their next opponent is, but rather how they can improve upon themselves.

“For me, I think it’s about us first,” Millora-Brown stated. “We [have to] fix what we messed up in this game and just improve because, as I’ve said before, we all know that we have so much to achieve on this team. We’re so deep, and we can play together so well, so I think that, first, we have to view this game and improve on the mistakes we made here before we can even focus on moving on to the next game.”

“Same lang naman lahat ng process namin kung sino man ang makakalaban namin,” added Fortea. “Siguro, ‘yun, start muna kami sa game na ‘to, [mag-view] kami and then paghandaan namin yung next game.”

UP will face UST at 4:30 PM on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

This UP Fighting Maroons club post is in partnership with Jiang Nan Hotpot.