Thing of the past

Games today:

(UST Quadricentennial Pavilion)

2 p.m. — Ateneo vs UE

4 p.m. — UP vs Adamson

It’s very rare for University of the Philippines (UP) to lose its first game of the season.

But instead of dwelling on their past mistakes, the Fighting Maroons are brushing it off and setting their focus on their next game in Season 88 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament.

The Fighting Maroons will take on Adamson University on Wednesday at the Quadricentennial Pavilion inside the University of Santo Tomas (UST) campus not just to secure their first win of the season but also to ease the pain of their 20-point meltdown to the mighty Growling Tigers on opening day, 67-87.

UP coach Goldwin Monteverde admitted that they were overwhelmed by the Growling Tigers — and their newfound prowess in the shaded lanes — but they have no choice but to treat it as a thing of the past and prepare for their 4 p.m. match against the Soaring Falcons.

“This is not the way we want to start the season,” said Monteverde, whose wards last lost their first game of the season four years ago. It was also their first loss to the Tigers in six years.

“But this is not important. Like life in general, what’s important is how you will respond to adversity. I mean, if something goes wrong, life goes on. You need to move forward.”

Prior to that, Ateneo de Manila University aims to sustain its strong start when it faces rebuilding University of the East in the first game at 2 p.m.

Led by sophomore Jared Bahay and the one-and-done trio of Kymani Lani, Dom Escobar and Jadem Lazo, the Blue Eagles are determined to reclaim their place among the league’s elite after finishing eighth last year.

Still, Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin knows that they are still a work in progress, especially after barely escaping Far Eastern University, 86-83, in overtime in last Saturday’s opener.

“We should have won that game in regulation, and it wasn’t a smart play,” Baldwin said after escaping by the skin of their teeth.

“You should be asking why Shawn Tuano drove to the rim against (Mo) Konateh when we know he’s a great shot blocker, with Divine (Adili) wide open in the paint, or why, already at 3-of-6 from the free throw line, he still got the inbounds pass instead of giving it back to Kymani, who was perfect from the line. Those are the questions about this team’s future.”

But attention will be on UP as it tries to recover from its stinging loss to UST.

With the troika of Francis Lopez, JD Cagulangan and Quentin Millora-Brown no longer around, the Fighting Maroons struggled to find their rhythm — and the solution to Nigerian rookie Collins Akowe, who terrorized the paint with 29 points and 17 rebounds.

Mark Belmonte, a role player in Monteverde’s rotation last season, served as the leading scorer with a quiet 12 points in 17 minutes of action while Harold Alarcon and Jacob Bayla registered 11 markers for the Fighting Maroons, who failed to draw significant numbers from prized transferee Rey Remogat.

Remogat, a Mythical Team member in Season 86 who made a lot of noise when he moved from University of the East to UP in preparation for the departure of Cagulangan, was hardly felt with five points and one assist in less than 10 minutes of play off the bench.

“We just have to find ways to help him get his rhythm,” Monteverde said.

“We need to take everything game for game and see the things we need to improve on.”

But against Adamson, UP has to be very careful.

In their first game, the Falcons bared their claws and nearly pulled the rug from under powerhouse De La Salle University, 58-60, much to the surprise of collegiate basketball sideliners.

In fact, it took a pair of clutch plays from Jacob Cortez and a three-pointer from Mason Amos in the final 7.9 seconds before the Green Archers, who are heavily projected to dominate the season, could shake up the gritty and hard-fighting Adamson squad.

“I think this year there was a bit of an improvement, offensively, though I had some doubts on our defense,” said Adamson coach Nash Racela, who drew 19 points and nine rebounds from the vastly improved Cedrick Manzano.

 “But to limit a team like La Salle to 60 points tells a lot.”

“It also tells other teams that a team like La Salle can be limited to that number, though La Salle will try and find ways to increase that number to the 70s and 80s again.”