Humblebola

By: Toby Pavon

Cold start? Court rust? Jitters? The UP Fighting Maroons don’t know them.

Fans and pundits like to preach about teams peaking at the right time, but the UP Fighting Maroons didn’t get that memo. They hit the ground running to start UAAP Season 86 and it doesn’t look like they’re intent on slowing down any time soon.

In their first two games of the season, UP immediately went to work dispatching their opponents in dominant fashion—both times going to their MVP Malick Diouf to dominate both ends of the floor.

Against Adamson, Diouf unleashed a monster performance with 20 points and 17 rebounds, all while protecting the paint with 4 blocks. Adamson is a familiar foe, and they may have been missing the services of Jerom Lastimosa, but Diouf and the rest of the Maroons still showed no mercy in their season opener.

His monster performance did not stop there, as against UE, Diouf stood his ground in a clash of the titans against Precious Momowei. UE’s athletic center dominated the boards with 22 rebounds, but Diouf was close behind with 16 boards of his own. In a game where UP was out-rebounded and shot a less than stellar 28% from beyond the arc, Diouf’s 80% from the field efficiency was key to keeping UE at bay.

If Diouf’s dominance wasn’t enough, UP’s second biggest contributor has been their returning king, CJ Cansino, picking up where he left off, steadying the team with his scoring ability, giving them timely buckets whenever opponents attempted to make runs.

It was Cansino’s 5/9 shooting from beyond the arc that ultimately dampened the spirits of the Soaring Falcons, allowing the Maroons to pull away in the second half and ultimately seal the deal. His hot hand continued in their game against UE, torching them with a 60% clip from the arc.

An example of the kind of dominance that UP is capable of is the 32-9 first quarter against UE. Sure, UE was able to make runs and close the gap, but that initial gap was so wide that UE had to spend so much energy just to close the gap.

What’s scary about the Maroons is that this isn’t even their last form. Far from it.

Coach Goldwin Monteverde was quoted describing the UAAP season as a marathon. In this marathon, UP is clearly leading the pack. They are setting the pace without even breaking a sweat. They have gotten contributions from players they expect to lead them, their veterans, their MVPs. Meanwhile their new recruits are still biding their time.

Francis Lopez didn’t score much against Adamson getting a flashy dunk in the process, but his main contribution to the team that game was crashing boards against Adamson’s relatively smaller lineup. Against UE he picked up the scoring but it wasn’t the most efficient performance making 4/10 from the field.

Even known scorers like Harold Alarcon, Gerry Abadiano and JD Cagulangan have not yet put up the big numbers they are known to be capable of. The Maroons have dominated their competition so far and they’ve done it without unleashing their full potential.

It’s true, the UAAP season is a marathon, but it doesn’t hurt to go out to a big lead early, especially when it isn’t straining you just yet. On Saturday the UP Fighting Maroons will get a chance to flex their dominance against another team that has been on the rise and is looking to prove they belong in the top ranks at the Maroons’ expense.