ALTHOUGH the UP Fighting Maroons have won only one game in the ongoing Filoil Flying V Premier Cup, tournament senior consultant Virgil Villavicencio said we can expect the team to dish out a better performance in the UAAP this season.
The Maroons won only one game last year, against cellar dweller Adamson University, to break a long, losing streak.
The academe and the UP alumni were so elated with the victory they celebrated the event with a bonfire attended by almost anybody who had anything to do with State U.
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This season, UP is playing host to the UAAP and Maroons team manager Dan Palami is hopeful that with a new coaching staff, and a revitalized lineup, the team could improve on last year’s finish.
Palami and College of Human Kinetics Dean Ronnie Dizer went through a lengthy and tedious process of forming a search committee whose task was to hire the deputies who would assist head coach Joe Ward.
Dizer and Palami said they were looking for a mentor, but months before his formal appointment as head coach was made, Ward was already conducting the training, conditioning and practice sessions of the team.
He also coached the Maroons in the FBA. Allan Gregorio and Rensy Bajar were chosen by the committee to assist him.
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“I’m not very sure of my numbers, if the Maroons’ loss to San Beda last Friday was their fifth (or only their fourth), but their game has improved without question. They’re playing so much better now,” said Virgil.
He said the Maroons also gave the De La Salle Green Archers a good fight, almost beating the 2013 UAAP champions.
“The game went into overtime,” said the DLSU alumnus. “I can’t say that the Maroons will be competitive this season, but you will see a marked improvement for sure.”
According to Virgil, some of the players who left the team have returned. He looks at this as an auspicious sign.
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Incidentally, Virgil, who initiated a fund-raising campaign for the hospitalization and surgery of PBA Press Corps president Barry Pascua, would like to thank all those in the PBA Board who helped, in particular the MVP Group of companies.
Barry had a leg amputated at De Los Santos Hospital along E. Rodriguez Avenue due to complications from diabetes. He is now recovering.