Ricci Rivero to join UP Fighting Maroons

[Updated as of 5:35 p.m.]

MANILA, Philippines — Ricci Rivero is taking a chance on University of the Philippines' “The Process.”

Chatter indicated that the Gilas cadet was seen in the UP campus on Friday morning, joining the members of the men’s basketball squad in a photo shoot for a team sponsor while donning a white Fighting Maroons shirt. 

Hours later, Rivero himself broke the news via a Twitter posting. 

When you're down, there's no where to go but UP! ?? DILIMAN here i come! ???????????????????? #UPFight pic.twitter.com/iAkFzKiNIq

— Ricci Rivero (@_ricciiirivero) May 18, 2018

"They told me that UP fans were crazy about the team and were there for them, win or lose. I saw that, too, when I played against them; sobrang ingay ng mga taga UP; di mo alam kung lamang sila ng sampu o lamang ang kalaban nila ng sampu," he said in a statement coursed by UP head coach Bo Perasol himself.

Sought for a comment earlier this afternoon, Perasol told PhilStar.com that they were "still finalizing things," but revealed that a formal announcement should come later.

"If a school is willing to give me an opportunity to keep playing in the UAAP and grow as a basketball player and as a person, then I will gratefully accept it and do everything I can to help that school to win a championship," Rivero added.

"[He] has the skill, work ethic, and character we look for in players who wear 'State U' across their chests," Perasol said of his new ward.

Rivero will be joining the squad that made remarkable strides in the last University Athletics Association of the Philippines basketball tournament. The Fighting Maroons scripted their best finish in the skirmish last season, accounting for six wins and eight losses—a far cry compared to their records for over a decade.

The athletic cager reinforces a UP crew bannered by fellow “23 for ’23” pool members Juan Gomez de Liaño and Paul Desiderio and Will Gozum. Also in the bunch are veteran Diego Dario and another high-profile transferee in Bright Akhuetie.

De Liaño, shortly after Rivero announced his departure from the DLSU last April, was quick to recruit the latter in a Twitter posting, at the same time referencing the Philadelphia Sixers’ hooping mantra.

Join the process? ...... https://t.co/dLqPz4YSD9

— Javi Gomez de Liaño (@javigdl22) April 5, 2018

Also last April, UP head coach Bo Perasol told Reuben Terrado of  Spin.PH that he is interested in acquiring Rivero.

Rivero, though, won’t be seeing action in Season 81 as he is expected to trust the process, if we may, as he serves a redshirt year due to UAAP’s eligibility rules.

This turn in Riveros’ career ends the speculation of him reuniting with former coach Aldin Ayo who is now handling the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers. The pair won a UAAP championship in 2016.

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