UP players (from left) Juan Gomez de Liano, Javi Gomez de Liano, Kobe Paras, and Ricci Rivero were in Cebu last Tuesday.
Jonas Panerio
UP key recruits say a lot of work needed for another title run
With the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons making their way back to the UAAP finals for the first time in 32 years before eventually falling to the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, expectations are sky-high for Season 82 with Gilas Cadets Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero set to join a team that will still have reigning MVP Bright Akhuetie and Mythical Five guard Juan Gomez de Liano.
Hold your horses, said the recruits.
Before thoughts of title bonfires go dancing in supporters’ heads, Paras, a Creighton University recruit, and Rivero, once a Mythical Five guard while playing for La Salle, asserted that much work still lies ahead of them.
“I went to UP to solemnly become a better athlete and student so I am not here to chase anything but to make the team better. I just want to focus on this offseason. I don’t expect anything at all, I take everything day by day,” said Paras, the son of the player credited most for giving UP its last title, former PBA MVP Benjie Paras.
Rivero, the Euro-step extraordinaire guard, also tempered expectations.
“The guys did really great. But with a the team without Paul (Desiderio), sobrang big factor yung pagkawala niya so we have to step up. We didn’t come here to chase something, but to improve ourselves. One game at a time, we don’t have to think na magcha-champion tayo kaagad,” said Rivero.
The Cebuano Desiderio, UP’s team captain, has already exhausted his playing years with the Fighting Maroons.
“Ang daming tao na nagsasabi that me and Ricci will give UP a championship but it’s not really that. You guys saw this season that the team didn’t really need us so you can’t expect anything,” Paras added.
Rivero and Paras were prominent fixtures on the sidelines during the recent UAAP finals, which Ateneo won, 2-0.
And they shared that they were itching to get a piece of the action.
“Those games were ones that I really wanted to be part of. I’m hungrier than I have ever been because the guys’ success really motivated me,” said Paras, who considers his experience in the United States to be an asset that he can help his teammates with.
Paras added that UP’s surge will also help the Maroons recruit more players from all over the country.
As a matter of fact, Rivero and Paras, along with teammates Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano were part of an entourage led by team manager Jonvic Remulla and patron Patrick Gregorio that flew to Cebu to try and recruit some of the south’s brightest basketball prospects.
“It’s been difficult to recruit for UP since it’s hard to recruit players to a team that doesn’t really win. But it’s going to be better now,” asserted Paras.