Bo Perasol resigns as UP Maroons head coach

After weeks of rumors, UP Fighting Maroons head coach Bo Perasol has confirmed that he is officially stepping down from his position on Thursday, July 15.

“I thank UP for believing in me from my very first year as coach of the Fighting Maroons,” he said on Wednesday night. “I feel this is the right time for me to step aside and help whoever will come after me continue what we have created here.”

Prior to Thursday’s official announcement, top team backers have stood by the side of the amiable tactician, and refuted earlier reports regarding his future due to ill timing, as Perasol has recently suffered personal loss.

In his five years at the head coaching helm, the 49-year-old amassed a 30-32 record in the elimination rounds, and sparked a newfound winning culture that peaked in 2018 with a UAAP Season 81 finals berth, the team’s first in 32 years.

“I promised UP after season 82 that I will stay for another season just to sustain the rebuilding process which started many many years back, coming off from zero wins back then,” Perssol said in a statement released on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, the pandemic has impacted on all of us, including the dynamics of the playing field. It has sadly changed my views, plans and priorities too.”

UP also said in an official statement that it had hoped Perasol would stay on for one more season. 

“Regrettably, he wants the team to have a fresh start next season under a new head coach, with all the new players now. A ‘reboot’ as he said,” Francis “Kiko” Diaz, dean of the College of Human Kinetics, said.

“We earnestly hope he will remain with team management to ensure the continuity of the program.”

Perasol also had a hand with the development of homegrown talents like Paul Desiderio and the Gomez de Liaño brothers, and the recruitment of high-profile prospects such as eventual Season 81 MVP Bright Akhuetie, former La Salle star Ricci Rivero, and former US NCAA recruit Kobe Paras.

Even in his last few months in the position as the pandemic shutdown droned on, Perasol helped secure the commitment of multiple star building blocks like Carl Tamayo, Gerry Abadiano, Terrence Fortea, Joel Cagulangan, and RC Calimag.

“Coach Bo will be leaving his post as head coach knowing that his work is done and his aim fulfilled,” said Renan Dalisay, chairman of the Nowhere to Go but UP Foundation. 

“He had planted the seeds that will surely bloom into something beautiful in the years to come.”

As the search for the next Maroons head coach kicks off, Perasol leaves the team a winner for years to come, with thousands of once-lapsed fans now eagerly awaiting the next chapter for the storied program. (READ: Monteverde, Aquino lead UP Maroons coaching candidates)

“We are not just rebuilding, we are really starting again,” said UP Maroons team manager Agaton Uvero.

“We have asked Coach Bo to remain with the team management to guide the transition and ensure the sustainability of the program. In the meantime, we will wait for UP’s decision on the new head coach of the UP Men’s Basketball Team.” – Rappler.com