Perasol stresses UP’s meticulous recruitment process
MANILA, Philippines – The UP Fighting Maroons have emerged as the early winners of the recruitment wars ahead of UAAP Season 86 as they secured commitments from multiple blue-chip recruits after their runner-up finish last year.
Apart from Ateneo high school product Francis "Lebron" Lopez, they also received the commitments of La Salle Greenhills' Luis Pablo, Seven Gagate and Joshua Coronel.
Adding to that are other prospects like Sean Alter and Chico Briones.
But UP Director for Basketball Operations Bo Perasol maintained that these recruits are not just hasty decisions in order to fill in the void left by former standout Carl Tamayo's early exit from the UAAP.
Rather, a lot of their recruitments have been years in the making.
"Itong programa na ginagawa namin sa UP hindi ito spur of the moment na, oh eto may magaling dun sa Greenhills, nagc-championship, kunin natin, kausapin natin," said Perasol during Gagate and Pablo's welcome press conference on Tuesday.
"Si Luis Pablo, o kaya nandyan si Seven Gagate, o kaya si Sean Alter. Etong mga ideas na ito, mahigit isang taon na itong pinaplano namin. Hindi ito yung sinabi ko nga pangmadalian na desisyon," he added.
Both fresh from a finals run with LSGH where they lost to eventual champions Letran in NCAA Season 98 boys basketball, Perasol said that the program has long been looking to meet the needs set by head coach Goldwin Monteverde.
As the offseason progresses for collegiate teams, Perasol simply wants the Diliman-based squad to be ready for any eventuality.
"So, ang pagpaplano namin sa programa, depende, syempre, sa pangangailangan ni Coach Gold. Siya ang magsasabi na management, Coach Bo, eto yung mawawala sa atin, ito yung mga pwedeng nating mga pamalit. Ang surpresa lang actually na nawala sa amin, sa program, was si Carl. Hindi supposedly [pa] mawawala si Carl. Pero nung nawala siya, I'm really positive na ready mag-step up itong mga katulad ni Luis, katulad nitong si Seven, sa role na ibibigay sa kanila ni Coach Gold," he said.
"Ako, bilang program director, masaya ako dahil alam ko na mapupunan yung kakulangan dahil sa pag-alis ng aming mga former players," he added.
When asked if more recruits are coming in before Season 86 kicks off, Perasol remained coy. He said that the recruitment game doesn't stop for this upcoming season. Rather, he said he needs to think and work in advance for the future of the UP MBT program.
"Hindi naman kami tumitigil ngayong season or sa susunod na season, it may be na yung nirerecruit namin eh two or three years from now, yan na yung ginagawa namin sa ngayon. Sino ba yung aalis? Plus, nasa isipan na rin namin yung mga possibility ng pangyayari na may aalis ng maaga. So lahat yan naka-factor in na," he said.
"Ang lagi naming inaasam-asam eh hindi kami mabibigla na may mawawalang magaling na player namin. And then wala na kami sa posisyon so we have to be prepared for any eventuality by recruiting in advance para sa progama," he continued.
UP's latest recruits will be reinforced by holdovers such as CJ Cansino, James Spencer, Terrence Fortea, and Malick Diouf as UP will seek to regain the UAAP crown after falling short of back-to-back titles last UAAP Season 85.
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