Tamayo sees silver lining in UP’s erratic outings: ‘We accept the pressure’

MANILA, Philippines – In three straight games to start the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament, the UP Fighting Maroons won by the skin of their teeth, with the latest being a 73-67 escape over the winless FEU Tamaraws.

In stark contrast to their game against Adamson, where they mounted a 17-point, second-half turnaround, the Maroons this time around blew a 14-point, first-quarter lead before shoring up in the fourth quarter to hack out yet another cardiac finish.

Carl Tamayo singlehandedly outscored FEU in the fourth quarter, 8-7, to hike his total to 16, while his longtime teammate Terrence Fortea continued his brilliant start to the season with a career-high 17-point outing built on a sterling 5-of-5 clip from three.

Despite the Maroons’ glaring inconsistencies on both offense and defense, Tamayo is taking the good with the bad as his team nonetheless stayed undefeated with a 3-0 record atop the league standings.

“I’m happy, but there are a lot of things to work on our team. We had a huge lead in the first quarter, then suddenly, FEU took the lead at the half. But I think the good thing is even though that was the situation, our team never faltered,” Tamayo said in Filipino.

“Facing this kind of pressure, the team is really ready. I think that’s the good thing. Even though we are inconsistent, at least at the end of the day, we accept the pressure and we face it, and we even got the win.”

FEU had its chances all game long, buoyed by a massive 32-point second quarter, but UP’s defense combined with the Tamaraws’ ice-cold shooting in the fourth ultimately spelled doom for the league’s lone winless team.

Assistant coach Christian Luanzon, filling in for Goldwin Monteverde in the post-game presser, took the opportunity to remind the public of the Maroons’ collective age when asked about the said inconsistencies.

“I guess, number one, I think sometimes people forget the youth of this team. Of course, the two-year hiatus of the pandemic, and at the same time last season, we were one of the youngest – if not the youngest team,” he said.

“Coming into Season 85, our key losses were Ricci [Rivero], CJ [Cansino], and the leadership brought by Noah Webb. The big thing is the maturity those three brought, and I don’t think I have to break that down.”

For his part, Tamayo is keeping his focus on the bigger picture as UP’s lone consistent attribute for now is giving its fans a regular dose of endgame panic.

“I think, of course, the team still has a lot of room to improve. It’s just the start of the season, it’s only the third game, and the season is far from over. We have a lot of stuff to go through,” he said.

“I think as the season goes, the team will still improve, and hopefully, if we get to the Final Four, the team will already be solid in terms of consistency.” – Rappler.com