UP has risen from the ashes of forgettable UAAP seasons, turning the Fighting Maroons from league doormats to perennial title contenders.
In case one did not notice, there has been a cultural revolution for UP basketball in recent years.
League doormats for longest time, the Fighting Maroons started living up to their monicker and have gone to the UAAP men’s basketball Finals for three straight years. including winning the championship in UAAP Season 84.
From celebrating singular wins with bonfires, UP basketball is now of a culture where players believe they can win games and even championships. It’s a culture program director Bo Perasol and head coach Goldwin Monteverde has cultivated since teaming up at the helm.
UP did win a title in Season 84 after 36 years of agony and heartbreaks, then followed it up with a couple of runner-up finishes in Seasons 85 and 86.
And there’s is no doubt in former UP captain CJ Cansino’s mind that same culture will allow the Fighting Maroons, regardless of personnel, to remain as title contenders this Season 87. Favorites to win again, even.
“Kasi yung sa UP laging kine-create nila [is] culture eh,” Cansino told One Sports on the state of State U basketball for the new UAAP season.
“Malaki yung tiwala ko sa kanila na kahit na maraming nawala, nandoon pa rin yung culture.”
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After leaving UP last season, Cansino, now playing for the Meralco Bolts in the PBA as the 11th overall pick of this year's Draft, is confident he left the team in good hands.
With JD Cagulangan, Harold Alarcon, Gerry Abadiano, and Season 86 Rookie of the Year Francis Lopez leading the way, Cansino believes UP can once crack the Final Four.
Asked whether he thinks the Fighting Maroons can go all the way to the Finals, Cansino answered in the affirmative.
“Hindi malabo,” he said of the team that also welcomed new recruits in Quentin Millora-Brown, Gani Stevens, Jacob Bayla, and Nigerian Dikachi Udodo, among others.
UP, after all, has been busy in the offseason.
After overseas training camps in Serbia and South Korea, the team also has made a stop in Keelung City to compete against top teams from Chinese Taipei and Thailand in the 2024 Interleague Play.
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Coach Goldwin Monteverde embraces expectations from fans and alumni like Cansino, but said it’s all about getting better day in and day out.
"We are aware of the expectations, siyempre, and we welcome them naman, pero tayo naman, ever since, ang focus natin is getting better each game," said Monteverde.