UP won. The UP Fighting Maroons won. The UP Men’s Basketball Team won.
Across from where I was seated, I could see Sen. Sonny Angara wearing maroon. A little turn of my head to the left, I could see my former advertising, PR and sports journalism professor Tessa Jazmines in maroon. On my back, I found former team member Jet Manuel clad in maroon.
Like them, I trooped to the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Aug. 9 to watch UP and Adamson fight over who will place last on the first round of the men’s basketball games for season 77. Unlike the previous games I watched, I was there to cheer all out for my team, rather than be a neutral, nonchalant member of the press, doing play-by-plays.
The odds were always against our favor. My team was the perennial underdog. No one expected for them to win, not even most of the UP community.
But last Saturday’s game was different.
Since I last covered the UAAP basketball games in season 74, the Adamson Falcons had a big turnaround from reaching the semi-finals and snapping a 29-game losing streak against the Ateneo Blue Eagles to playing dismally – enough to rival UP’s losing record.
That didn’t leave me confident though. Even if I was spouting that the game was already ours, I had my fears. I know how my team usually is. They play topnotch on the first three quarters, only to choke on the final and most crucial quarter. (Yes, this is what makes UP men’s basketball games frustrating, because I have long known how the boys are really good and can actually go head-to-head with their opponents.)
And that fear almost turned to reality.
UP came out on top for the first three quarters, even extending the lead to more than 20 points. Then, here comes the fourth quarter. It felt like I was reliving the last UP-Adamson game I covered.
The Ermita-based team was more pumped up. They had more possession of the ball. The Falcons were shooting better than ever. They narrowed the gap to 9 points in the last two minutes of the game.
UP was faring no better. Shooting had become off. Mikee Reyes, the top-scorer of the game, had to be escorted out due to cramps. But I knew that this was the moment I had to believe more on my team. I had to have faith until the last second of the game, like every other UP game I watched. That was the time they needed us to cheer harder.
And they persisted and won convincingly with a 13-point lead.
I nearly cried when the buzzer rang. It was the first UP game I saw that they emerged victorious. UP Naming Mahal never sounded so sweet, given how the hymn has now been constantly reminding a lot of people of the university’s tuition and government funding issues.
Of course, the battle doesn’t end there. The team just raised the bar higher. UP FIGHT!
I would also like to extend my congratulations to the UP Women’s Badminton team for beating defending champions Ateneo! Also, I would like to remind FCF manager Ronin Bautista of the free Magnum he promised if UP wins.
Related stories:
You are way better than that: An open letter to the UP Fighting Maroons
Fighting Maroons end frustrating 27-game skid, dump Falcons
UP’s bonfire and the one-win celebration
PHOTOS: University of the Philippines’ bonfire celebrates Fighting Maroons win
