Ricci Rivero overwhelmed in UAAP return with stacked Maroons

MANILA, Philippines – Two seasons ago, the Ateneo Blue Eagles defeated fierce rivals La Salle Green Archers in 3 grueling finals games to win the first of two straight championships. 

That La Salle loss in Game 3 was the last time Ricci Rivero saw action in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament. 

After a controversial off-season following that campaign, the side-stepping star looked for a fresh start and transferred to the UP Fighting Maroons, where Rivero laid low for a year as he served his residency. 

Now back in the big stage of collegiate basketball, he made sure that fans did not forget what he can bring on the hardcourt.

Starting off with an explosive alley-oop dunk, Rivero eventually finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds, albeit on a rusty 3-of-15 clip in UP’s 61-55 win against the FEU Tamaraws. 

Numbers aside, the one-time UAAP champion is just happy to finally get back to doing what he does best. 

“Sobrang overwhelming kasi ‘yung suporta ng UP crowd,” he said after the game. “Nandiyan talaga siyempre yung teammates and coaches at sobrang happy ako na dito ako napunta.”

(The UP crowd support was really overwhelming. Plus my teammates and coaches are there and I’m just so happy that I got here.)

“It was exciting,” he continued. “But of course, I can’t dwell on what I’m feeling and all that. I just have to play what the coaches are telling me. I just have to be myself and we just have to really think about winning more because we lacked a bit for quite some time.” 

With the highly touted Kobe Paras left in street clothes due to an injury, UP looked to Rivero to carry the bulk of the scoring. However, it was fourth-year forward Javi Gomez de Liaño who answered the call with a game-high 22 points.

But Rivero isn’t sweating on it as he’s more focused now on grounding his game moving forward. 

“Like what I told my teammates a while ago, we can’t dwell on what we’re feeling,” we said. “We need to rely more on what’s happening in the game.” 

“If someone makes a highlight, we just have to stay on the game and get back on defense because that’s what’s important.” – Rappler.com