UP Fighting Maroons forward Harold Alarcon isn’t very talkative by nature, but he had a lot to say about Season 87, his former teammate, and his culinary skills in this exclusive interview.
They say time slows down whenever you want it to speed up. Fifteen minutes can feel like an hour, and one hour can feel like five or six. In the case of UP Fighting Maroons forward Harold Alarcon, there were 4.6 seconds of his life that felt like an eternity.
It was December 15, 2024, and a missed free throw by La Salle’s EJ Gollena caromed Harold’s way. He grabbed the ball and lay down on it while waiting for the clock to strike zero and formalize the Fighting Maroons’ ascension to the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball throne.
The clock on the jumbotron at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum read 00:04.6 while Gollena was taking his free throws. In Harold’s mind, he was expecting someone to foul him. When that didn’t happen, he turned to wondering why it was taking so long for those seconds to run out.
“Yung last possession na yun, feeling ko nga ifa-foul pa nila ako eh,” Alarcon told The GAME in an exclusive interview. “Pino-protect ko na talaga yung bola na ayaw ko makuha pa nila.
“Siguro yung pagkapikit ko na tapos pagkawa ko ng bola, medyo matagal nga siya. Yun yung pinakamatagal na four seconds sa buong buhay ko. Tapos bigla na lang may tumapik sa’kin na okay na, champion na.”
When Alarcon rolled over, Quentin Millora-Brown was standing over him shouting that they were now UAAP champions, before Jacob Bayla and Jan-Jan Felicilda came over briefly to give him a congratulatory tap before joining the revelry that was unfolding at center court.
After everything that had happened over the previous two seasons, Harold Alarcon couldn’t believe it. “Surreal eh,” he answered when asked how it felt. “Parang bumuhay ulit yung buong UP community pagkatapos ng championship na yun.”
Road to Redemption
It was a joyful Christmas that was two years in the making for Alarcon and the UP Fighting Maroons. The previous two Decembers were filled with gloom following two straight Game 3 defeats to Ateneo and La Salle.
“After yung championship, masaya siya,” he said. “Kasi sinalubong namin yung Christmas na hindi malungkot. Hindi tulad ng last two seasons na, alam mo, hindi mo feel yung Pasko kapag galing ka sa talo. So, sobrang sarap lang sa feeling na, yung Christmas na talaga, feeling na feeling mo.”
That certainly wasn’t the case during Christmas 2022 and 2023, when Alarcon and the rest of the team had to endure a long, gloomy Christmas break second-guessing themselves and wondering what the heck had gone wrong.
They were determined to slay the Ghosts of Christmas Past in Season 87, but when a third straight Game 3 loomed on the horizon, a feeling of dread briefly set it.
“Yung Game 2 namin last season, parang papasok sa Game 3, yung ibang tao parang takot na maglaro,” Alarcon recalled. “Parang alam mo yung trauma na tatlong season, matatalo ulit kayo sa Game 3. Parang gano’n yung feeling.”
It took an intervention from coach Goldwin Monteverde to get everyone back on track and on the same page.
“Ni-regroup namin ni Coach Gold,” Harold said. “Kinausap kami ng maayos. Ginising niya kami na hindi ito pwede. Tatlong taon, tatlong tayong beses magiging runner-up. Hindi pu-puede yun.
“Alam naman namin na kayang-kayang namin kunin yung Game 3 na yun. Kasi lahat naman nakikita namin na may buhay pa dikit pa sa isa’t isa. Parang hinihila lang namin yung bawat isa.”
That bond was important, for in that crucial Game 3, a familiar face threatened to once again disrupt their championship aspirations.
The KQ Factor
The past two years have seen Kevin Quiambao emerge as the best local college player in the Philippines. His UAAP career with La Salle, which ended after Season 87 when he went pro, lists two MVP awards, one Rookie of the Year citation, one Finals MVP, and one championship. He was the leading scorer of Season 87 and was the biggest thorn in the side of the Fighting Maroons over two finals series.
In an alternate universe, he would have teamed up with Harold and all of his other former high school teammates in Diliman. If that had happened, everyone else could have gone home and awarded the last three championships to UP.
“Ang alam namin, sama-sama dapat kaming lahat,” Harold said of the NUNS Bullpus core that won back-to-back juniors crowns. “Nagulat na lang kami, may article na nag-commit na talaga siya sa La Salle.”
Quiambao’s change of heart, though, didn’t affect his friendship with his former high school teammates, even as they battled each other through two emotional finals.
“Kung ano ang relasyon namin noong high school, ganun pa rin kami, ang relasyon namin hanggang ngayon,” Harold says of KQ. “Ganun yung binuon ni Coach Gold na brotherhood simula high school hanggang ngayon. Kung baga family tayo ng high school, pagdating ng college, yung pinagsamahan natin, walang makakalimot.”
Alarcon still speaks in awe of his former teammate. In his mind, he’s really that good.
“Simula high school, sobrang sipag talaga ni KQ,” he said. “Tipong alas 5 ng umaga, tumatakbo na yun sa taas ng NU. Yung diet niya strikto din siya. Minsan na na-influenced niya kami, sumasabay din ako sa kanya minsan sa sipag niya. Parang nakakadala siya ng teammate noong high school.”
“And hanggang ngayon, noong college siya nadadala niya, siguro gano’n talaga siya. Addict talaga siya sa basketball. Kasi simula noong bata siya naglalaro siya sa mga liga-liga nila doon sa Muntinlupa.
“Nakikita ko talaga si Kevin, complete package siya as a player. Talino, tangkad. Hindi lang siya magaling eh. Marunong talaga siya maglaro ng basketball.”
Harold the Master Chef
Harold Alarcon is now something of a celebrity, whether he likes it or not. A shy and soft-spoken person by nature, he has never been comfortable in the spotlight. In this regard, he is lucky that the culture in UP doesn’t produce starstruck students.
“Di ko naman siya ni-label na celebrity. Parang mina-mindset ko lang palagi na kung ano ako nung pagdating ko sa UP, parang sini-stay grounded ko lang yung sarili ko. Ganon pa rin.
“Minsan lang yung gustong magpa-picture. Okay lang yun.”
What has changed for him are his culinary skills. Harold is taking up BS Hotel and Restaurant Institution Management, and after several semesters he can now proudly say he’s become quite handy in the kitchen.
“Gusto kong maging chef, kasi mahilig din ako magluto eh,” he said. “Master ko na yung adobo, sinigang, chicken inasal.”
But before he can become a chef, Harold Alarcon first wants to become a back-to-back UAAP champion. He will be playing his final year in Season 88, and he would like nothing more than to give the university its first consecutive men’s basketball titles in nearly a hundred years (UP won the first three sNCAA titles from 1924 to 1926).
“Last season ko na din. Ibigay ko na lahat kasi wala na. Di na ako babalik sa college. Kung anong kaya akong ibigay, ibigay ko na lahat.
“Parang kaya-kaya namin yung back-to-back. Kasi alam ko, meron akong teammates na diyan palagi sa likod ko. At alam nila na diyan din ako sa likod nila palagi.
“Gagawin namin talaga lahat para makuha yung back-to-back. Kasi yun din yung goal namin. Lima kami na ga-graduate.
“Yun yung gusto namin, maganda yung exit namin.”
Banner Images by Lorenzo Corro.