UP Fighting Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde sees their 20-point loss to the NU Bulldogs as another learning experience in their quest for an elusive UAAP title.
The UP Fighting Maroons were on the wrong side of UAAP Season 87’s biggest blowout on Sunday as they fell 47-67 to the seventh-seeded NU Bulldogs at the UST Quadricentennial Pavillion.
State U was held to 26.5 percent shooting by the Bulldogs as they went 17-of-65 from the field in the losing effort. According to league statistician Pong Ducanes, UP’s 47 points is their lowest scoring output since a 49-point outing in UAAP Season 79 against the FEU Tamaraws and since head coach Goldwin Monteverde took over in 2022.
But Monteverde himself refuses to dwell on the loss itself and is focusing instead on the learnings they will get from this setback.
“Sa akin naman, manalo ka ng isang puntos, matalo ka ng one point or more than that. I mean, sa akin, every game naman dapat lang makita lang namin ang dapat namin baguhin,” Monteverde said.
Aldous Torculas was UP’s lone double-digit scorer with 13 points as JD Cagulangan settled for eight points on a 3-for-13 shooting clip. Starters Gerry Abadiano, Jacob Bayla, and Francis Lopez were limited to two points apiece, while Quentin Millora-Brown had four markers.
“And sa amin, kahit sa practice, araw-araw naman sa amin Final 4 o championship. Binibigay namin lahat, makakaya namin every day. So whatever comes with it, kung anong dapat namin matutunan, para sa amin, it’s gonna be good for us also,” reflected the champion mentor.
The Maroons were once again plagued by a slow start on Sunday, which allowed the Bulldogs to carve out a 24-8 advantage to end the first quarter. Unlike most games, UP was unable to go on their trademark second-half run thanks to NU’s lockdown defense.
Consequently, this became the Maroons’ first wire-to-wire loss in the last two UAAP seasons, dating back to Game 3 of their Season 85 Finals against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
“Kahit sa unang game pa lang, pangalawa, talagang gusto namin tanggalin talaga ‘yung slow start na yan. Siguro ano pa, we need to think of ways pa para maiwasan natin yun. Importante lang, when we approach every game, alam namin na prepared kami and having that mindset na to be able to execute both ends,” Monteverde explained.
Monteverde also gave credit to NU’s defensive schemes throughout the match. On top of their offensive lapses, UP also committed 30 turnovers on Sunday, which is another low under the champion mentor’s tutelage.
“I’m not gonna take anything away from NU. They played good defense sa amin tonight. Siyempre, being the opposing team, ‘pag dinedepensahan ka nang maayos, dapat it should call for better execution on our part. We had some open shots naman, but then we were not making it. So, minsan siguro nangyayari rin yun.”
Without a doubt, UP on Sunday was far from the dominant Fighting Maroons we’ve gotten used to seeing under Monteverde. But despite this, the mentor reiterated that the loss will provide valuable lessons in and out of the hardcourt for his players.
“So minsan, may mga araw na ganun. Which I think this game would…Teach somebody character-wise kung paano to keep up or endure or whatever comes your way. And this loss could be big for us also as human beings. How to improve on things. Both, you know, sa game at the same time, character-wise,” reflected the former NUNS Bullpups coach.
UP now looks ahead to their much-awaited rematch against the La Salle Green Archers on November 9 at the Araneta Coliseum. With a week’s worth of preparation, it’s now up to the Maroons to figure out their lapses as they try to get even with the Archers for Round 2.
Banner image courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.