Defending champions UP Fighting Maroons left scratching their heads after a 20-point beatdown at the hands of UST to start UAAP Season 88.
The UP Fighting Maroons are licking their wounds after starting their UAAP Season 88 title defense with a dismal 20-point loss against hosts UST, 87-67, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Sunday.
After a hot start propelled the Growling Tigers to the early lead, the Fighting Maroons just couldn’t muster enough offense to catch up and were on the receiving end of the lopsided beatdown.
For head coach Goldwin Monteverde, the loss stings, but will need to be put behind them quickly.
[RELATED: Host UST stuns reigning champ UP to kickstart UAAP Season 88 men's basketball bid]
The Fighting Maroons are back on th court by Wednesday, September, facing an Adamson side that pushed title rival La Salle into a tightly-fought contest in their own opener.
“It’s really tough, yung mga ganito. But our next game is Wednesday so there’s no time for us to feel sorry for ourselves,” Monteverde said.
“Kumbaga, after this, [we’ll] try to watch the game, try to find out which things to work on then move forward for the next game against Adamson.”
Against the Growling Tigers, UP’s frontcourt faltered, with UST rookie Collins Akowe able to assert his will inside the paint. Thanks to Akowe, along with hot shooting from the likes of Kyle Paranada, the Fighting Maroons were left reeling.
Loss as fuel
Still, the season is young and for the Fighting Maroons, the way that they opened the year is nothing compared to how they want to finish.
That is, Monteverde believes that this opening-day setback will only be motivation for his team to perform.
With the rest of the season still to play, the Fighting Maroons are hoping to learn from their mistakes and be more competitive against those who want to topple their reign — especially since they continue to be the team to beat.
“This is not the way na gusto namin i-start yung season but I guess playing as a team we need to improve on that. Sometimes yung mag ganitong tough losses it push us to work together and work harder and try to improve pa more as a team,” Monteverde said.
The Fighting Maroons return to action against the Soaring Falcons on Wednesday, September 24, still at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion at 4:30 p.m.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.