It's UAAP title or bust for UP Maroons

MANILA, Philippines — The UP Fighting Maroons are aiming for nothing less but the top prize in the UAAP men's basketball tournament.

After a slow and steady rise from cellar dwellers to title contenders, Coach Bo Perasol said his team is laser-focused on one thing: bringing back a championship to UP Diliman.

Speaking during the recent episode of Tiebreaker Vods' Coaches Unfiltered Podcast, Perasol said that UP doesn't plan on settling for anything else.

"It's not even about spoiling Ateneo, it's just getting the chance again to be champions," Perasol said when asked if his Season 83 lineup could possibly overthrow Ateneo's bid for a fourth straight title.

"That has been our aim... Marami laging nagsasabi [na] coach, you have to tone down their expectations... Sabi ko anong ittone down natin ang expectation eh lahat naman tayo gusto magchampion diba?," he added.

Like most of the UP community, Perasol and his squad are hungry to be the kings of UAAP men's basketball once again with a three-decades title drought haunting the program.

With his flock of new recruits, which most recently included NU Bullpups Carl Tamayo and Gerry Abadiano, and stars Ricci Rivero, Kobe Paras and Bright Akhuetie, Perasol is eager to finally bring the championship trophy to Diliman.

"Hindi mo masasabihan ang tao na you cannot expect much from the UP team because they are new. Hindi eh... It doens't matter what your lineup is right now, the only thing in their mind is to be champion after three decades," Perasol said.

"That's why my role as a head coach is to give us that position to be able to accomplish that. Yun ang papel ko," he added.

Two key cogs of the UP Maroons in Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano have opted to skip Season 83 to focus on other basketball commitments, but Perasol still believes nothing less is to be expected from the squad.

"Tapos na yung laban, laban lang tayo UP. Tapos na yan. Nandoon ka na dapat looking lumaban ka na sa Finals," he said.

Under Perasol's tutelage, the UP program has seen immense development from cellar dwellers to finally breaking the UAAP Final Four drought in Season 81.

While the Cinderella run in 2018 was definitely one for the history books, Perasol wants his squad to still aim for the top.

"You have to embrace the challenge," he said.