Winning championships and defending them are both difficult endeavors and the UP Fighting Maroons have experienced how tough the latter can be. 

The Maroons weren’t expected to breeze through UAAP Season 88, but neither were they viewed as one of the teams (along with the FEU Tamaraws and the still-winless UE Red Warriors) to go 0-2 to begin the tournament. 

The beatdown UP received from the UST Growling Tigers in the Season 88 opener was a shock but also a testament to the loaded squad the Growling Tigers have. 

Losing to the Adamson Soaring Falcons, though, had some wondering if the panic button was in sight. The Maroons were clearly the more talented team, but the Soaring Falcons were unafraid in crashing the boards, attacking UP’s defense, and more importantly, the gut-check moments of the game. 

But then, all the Maroons may have just needed time to get their bearings. Following that subpar stretch, UP has since won six of their last seven games, with their latest victory coming against the Tamaraws. 

Balance was what the Maroons needed to widen the gap over FEU, who could do nothing to stop the various options UP had on their squad. Anything the Tamaraws could do, the Maroons could do better, and UP responded to anything FEU threw at them offensively. 

It’s clear that the Maroons live off the midrange game, as the likes of Harold Alarcon and Gerry Abadiano thrive off midrange jumpshots to open up their games and that of their teammates. This has been particularly helpful for UP’s big men, who have been able to work with more space. Francis Nnoruka has been arguably the biggest beneficiary of this, as he has become more comfortable with each passing game. 

Defensively, the Maroons have led the league in fouls committed (23.4 per game) and have only managed to grab 40.9 rebounds per game, the third-lowest in the UAAP. Teams have been able to utilize this by getting more possessions and disrupting UP’s momentum whether through points or getting them off their usual rotations. 

The road ahead for the Maroons won’t be easy as they are set to take on UST following their win over the Tamaraws. The Red Warriors and Adamson should be theirs to lose, but closing out the preliminary stage of UAAP Season 88 against the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the DLSU Green Archers, respectively, will have Final Four implications. 

In the meantime, the UP Fighting Maroons should continue to focus on each other. The early season slump may have bothered them especially when combined with some of their initial individual struggles, but things turned around once they stuck with Maroons head coach Goldwin Monteverde’s system. 

Moving the ball around has allowed them to tap onto their strengths and when they share the ball, the game becomes easier for them. And when that happens, there’s nowhere to go but up for UP.