‘We just lost a battle. The war is not over yet,’ said UP coach Monteverde

NO RETREAT, no surrender.

That’s the marching order of mentor Goldwin Monteverde for reigning champion University of the Philippines (UP) as the Fighting Maroons enter an uncharted territory following a defeat in Game 1, their first under the great tactician’s watch in a stellar era marked by five straight finals appearances and two championships so far.

“We just lost a battle. The war is not over yet,” declared the embattled tactician following UP’s 74-70 loss to rival De La Salle University (DLSU) in the opener of their finals trilogy witnessed by more than 18,000 fans on Wednes-day at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Mr. Monteverde, since taking over the Diliman hoops program in 2022, beat Ateneo de Manila University twice and La Salle twice in the opener of the last four titular showdowns, winning half of it eventually including last sea-son at the expense of two-time MVP Kevin Quiambao.

The second-seeded UP, with a week-long rest after dispatching University of Santo Tomas in one attempt compared to La Salle that had to beat National University twice in the Final Four, was on poise to keep that streak and shore up its second straight title bid by controlling the majority of the match, including a nine-point lead entering the fourth period before melting down. Prior to that, UP was 9-1 this season when leading after three quarters.

But a new hero for the DLSU Green Archers rose to hunt them this time around in the name of second-generation player Jacob Cortez, who’s out to deliver a title to Taft just like his dad Mike. Mr. Cortez thrusted a dagger on the Maroons’ hearts in Game 1 with the game-sealing triple in the last 30 seconds to finish with 21 points.

Mr. Cortez’ heroics negated the 34-point eruption of UP ace Harold Alarcon, the league’s highest since Thirdy Ravena’s 38 in 2018. For UP to retaliate and drag the series to another winner-take-all next week, the entire Fighting Maroons need to show up and Mr. Monteverde brims with confidence that they will.

“’Yung 34 points ni Harold (Alarcon), of course, the team need that. But then, its not all Harold. It’s just that as a team, we need others too,” Mr. Monteverde rallied, calling on his usual gunners Gerry Abadiano, Terrence Fortea, Rey Remogat, Gani Stevens and Francis Nnoruka to rediscover their fiery form — now or never.

“This is not the first time we lost, so we’re just reminding ourselves that we started the season in 0-2. And I believe the team knows how to bounce back from this situation. In every finals game, we should just want it more.” — John Bryan Ulanday