Key UP recruits drawn to Monteverde's program
MANILA, Philippines — The UP Fighting Maroons caught big fish anew in the recruitment wars heading into UAAP Season 86 as two of the top high school players in the country committed to the Fighting Maroons in NCAA Juniors MVP Luis Pablo and Mythical Five member Seven Gagate.
And what made UP such an attractive destination for the La Salle Greenhills products is the man who architected UP's history-making championship run in UAAP Season 84 — head coach Goldwin Monteverde.
Heading into his third season now as the lead tactician of the Fighting Maroons, both Pablo and Gagate admitted that it was Monteverde's system in place that had them packing their bags to Diliman.
"Kaya ko pinili ang UP dahil yun nga po, sobrang tiwala po ako sa program ni Coach Gold and sa program ng UP. Feel ko po ang maitutulong ko sa team is kung ano man po yung role na ibibigay nila coach at ng coaching staff. Lahat po sila. Gagawin ko po ng 100% and gagampanan ko po yung role na ibibigay," Pablo said during his and Gagate's welcome press conference on Zoom last Tuesday.
"Kahit anong role po yun gagawin ko po para makatulong sa team and yung goal po is kahit first season palang po namin, gusto po namin agad maipanalo ang championship."
Gagate, for his part, had a deeper relationship with Monteverde already, as he saw his older brother Shannon flourish under him in Chiang Kai Shek.
"Naniwala po ako sa program po ni coach Gold kasi proven and tested na po yan eh. Sa mga players palang po, and especially po sa kuya ko," said Gagate.
"Nagtiwala po siya sa program ni Coach Gold so nagtiwala rin po ako. And syempre din po, sa family din po, dati po pa kaming magkakilala," he continued.
As for what role they get to fill, Monteverde believes that both incoming freshmen will be a big factor in patching up the holes left by former players Carl Tamayo and Zavier Lucero.
With a more versatile kind of play, the champion coach believes they will do wonders for the UP side.
"Ang maganda naman dito in terms of sinasabi na big men, hindi naman sila yung parang yung traditional big men na nakikita natin. These are bigs that could really play inside and outside, very versatile na you know, we could really take advantage on when it comes to offense," said Monteverde.
"At the same time, nakita naman namin yung on the defensive end, yung nagagawa nila, yung naitutulong nila, would be a really big part dito sa UP this season," he added.
Apart from Pablo and Gagate, also on deck to join the Maroons for this upcoming UAAP Season 86 are Francis "Lebron" Lopez, Sean Alter and Chico Briones.
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