Perasol: UP now ’11 games wiser’

ANTIPOLO, Philippines – The UP Fighting Maroons have momentarily crashed into the top four of UAAP Season 81. 

But not without some drama as the upstart NU Bulldogs almost repeated their first-round scare on the Maroons with a late run in the 4th quarter. This time, though, UP controlled the pace down the stretch to keep NU’s momentum at bay.

And that was enough to earn praise from head coach Bo Perasol.

“The emphasis there is we agreed that we have to be 11 games wiser now,” Perasol said after his Maroons held on to an 82-71 win over the NU Bulldogs on Saturday, November 3.

“There were a lot of times that we really didn’t mature in the games that we had in the past especially going up against strong rallies. They were poised to have a strong rally again but we were able to hold off, not only because the starters were there.”

Perasol also commended several players who helped power the Maroons to a 6-6 record.

“I have to say special mentions to those guys, especially Gelo (Vito), Jerson (Prado), David (Murrell). But also, with Paul (Desiderio) delivering in the end. He wasn’t having his best game in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd quarter but knowing the competitor he is, he was able to find his groove and was able to score crucial points for us,” said Perasol.

“But we cannot settle here. We have a very, very important game next weekend. What we did here was just to give us a chance and we need to get those next few games.”

UP, which has been see-sawing between 4th and 6th place in the cramped standings, is now set to face fellow Final Four contenders UST and La Salle in their final two games.

For Perasol, all they have worked for will culminate in those two contests.

“I told them we trained for a year not really for the first few games of the eliminations but for those games which are going to count,” he said. “We were put in this situation. We got ready for this and we are ready for this.” – Rappler.com