U.P. Maroons laugh off shorts mix-up in Season 82 debut win

MANILA, Philippines – With the highly-touted Kobe Paras sitting out his UAAP Season 82 debut, the UP Fighting Maroons felt a bit shorthanded in their first game back in the grind.

Come tip-off time against the FEU Tamaraws, last season’s finalists surely felt the lack of length in the court.

And no, they were not seeking Paras’ wingspan in his absence, but rather the absence of… a few more inches on their new shorts. 

In an amusing first day, the entire UP team showed up with throwback short shorts – from the MVP down to the last guy on the bench. And after the Maroons eked out a 61-55 win against the Tamaraws, head coach Bo Perasol found time to address the unforeseen wardrobe malfunction.

“That was a distraction too. I told them that if they’re gonna be distracted by the short shorts then I’m gonna have to feel distracted too with this skinny shirt that I have,” the amiable coach said in between laughs. “It was just a lapse. We were distracted at the beginning but we have to go through that also.”

Despite the fashion faux pas, the team felt breezy enough to wow the crowd with Bleacher Report-level highlights – from soaring alley-oop slams from champion transferee Ricci Rivero to slick dipsy-do layups from the white-hot Javi Gomez de Liaño. 

More importantly, UP did not come up short in the endgame despite FEU mounting a comeback. 

At the end of the day, the Maroons were more focused on not getting shortchanged on the court. Changing shorts can be done some other time. – Rappler.com