ERSTWHILE winless in 15 straight games, University of the East notched a breakthrough victory over Far Easter University last Wednesday. La Salle, which lost to archrival Ateneo in their last seven duels since 2017, finally got one over the Blue Eagles three days ago.
Those results underscored the unpredictability of the league’s new season, which explains why even defending champion University of the Philippines could not look past its foes.
“As what coach Gold (Monteverde) always say to the players, never-ending dapat iyong growth ng team, even during the season, that’s why important iyong mindset ng mga bata,” assistant coach Christian Luanzon, who spoke in lieu of coach Goldwin Monteverde after the Fighting Maroons downed the Tamaraws 73-67 last Saturday, said.
“So, iyon nga sa mga practices namin, even though there are walkthroughs, especially the day before and iyong concentration level nila is a high-level of focus pa rin especially as we go down the line papasok sa mga remaining games,” he added.
UP seeks to extend its unbeaten run to four when it tangles with National University today in the 85th UAAP basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The match is set at 1 p.m. after Ateneo tries to redeem itself from a painful 78-83 defeat to the Green Archers when it collides with University of Santo Tomas in the curtain-raiser at 11 a.m.
La Salle battles UE at 4:30 p.m., while FEU squares off with Adamson University at 6:30.
