University of the Philippines (UP) team manager Jonvic Remulla has a short — but bold and fearless — forecast about their chances of winning the title of Season 87 University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

“Done,” Remulla said in a Viber message to DAILY TRIBUNE when asked about his prediction in Game 3 of their best-of-three finals series against De La Salle University today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Now serving as the Interior and Local Government Secretary, Remulla has been instrumental in the revival of the Fighting Maroons’ basketball program since taking over in 2018.

With the support of Patrick Gregorio, Nowhere to Go But UP Foundation and the Robinsons Retail Group of the Gokongwei family, Remulla pumped life into the UP program by recruiting the best players both here and abroad.

The school eventually became the ultimate destination of blue chip players like Ricci Rivero, Carl Tamayo, Kobe Paras and Zavier Lucero as well as the current crop of Fighting Maroons in JD Cagulangan, Gerry Abadiano, Quentin Millora-Brown, Jacob Bayla and Francis Lopez.

UP eventually ended its 19 years of futility when it advanced to the Final Four in 2018 before winning its first title in 36 years in 2022.

The Fighting Maroons lost the crown to Ateneo de Manila University in 2022 before bowing to La Salle in the finals last year.

Now, they have a golden chance to reassert their dominance and emerge as the best team in the country’s most prestigious collegiate league.

UP assistant coach Eric Gonzales strongly agrees with Remulla, saying that they are very confident over their chances after learning the lesson of Season 86 when they succumbed in the sudden-death encounter after beating the Green Archers by 30 points in Game 1.

After all, they had a good performance in Game 1 when Jacob Bayla put clamps on Most Valuable Player Kevin Quiambao in the second half, resulting in a 73-65 victory.

Then in Game 2, they were in control until Quiambao took over in the crucial stretch before watching Lopez crumble into pressure with missed free throws and a botched play that sent them to a heartbreaking 75-76 loss.

“We like our chances,” said Gonzales, who is fresh from steering the Quezon Huskers to the finals of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.