FORMER Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) juniors MVP Paul Desiderio is quickly establishing himself as the go-to guy for the rebuilding University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons as he led the squad to the finals of the Filsports Basketball Association Unity Games with a 64-53 win over the second-seeded Metro Racal Auto Center Artemis in the semifinals last weekend at the Oreta Sports Complex in Malabon City.
After years of dismal ratings, the Fighting Maroons appear to be turning a corner toward respectability and leading them is Desiderio, a native of Liloan, Cebu who was the driving force in the University of the Visayas Baby Lancers’ campaign to win the crown back in 2011.
In the knockout semis, Desiderio stepped up to score 21 points to push the Maroons past the Artemis and into the finals against the Pampanga Foton Tornadoes.
In a talk yesterday, Desiderio divulged that he along with the rest of the Maroons will be in Cebu on June 12 to play in a series of tune-up matches against Cebu’s different collegiate teams.