A Maroon through and through, Bo Perasol motivated to steer UP to greater heights

Bo Perasol has had a long and varied coaching career, having orchestrated for teams both in the collegiate and professional levels.

He was able to show his wares in the PBA with Air21 and Powerade before moving on to head coach Ateneo and University of the Philippines in the UAAP. Still there’s one team that Perasol has utmost appreciation of and that’s the one draped in maroon.

Perasol once played with the Fighting Maroons from 1989 to 1993 and more than two decades later he’s leading that same team to their first Final Four appearance since 1997.

“It’s different because at this time you’re fighting for something that comes from within, you have the motivation that you want to make it happen because you’re part of this and you’re part of the institution,” said Perasol Thursday at Epsilon Chi Center in UP Diliman.

Perasol’s new bunch of Fighting Maroons will take on Adamson University in the Final Four and they will have the disadvantage of having to win two games to get to the championship while the Soaring Falcons need to get just one victory to advance.

UP finished the eliminations of the UAAP Season 81 with an 8-6 record but the Soaring Falcons, who ended their schedule with 10 wins to four losses, hold a 2-0 season series advantage over the Fighting Maroons.

Still, the predicament the team is in doesn’t intimidate Perasol and the Fighting Maroons.

“While you’re here, you’re already thinking of how do you make the community proud so we’re not going to stop from where we are and we’re going to keep on fighting,” said Perasol. “We’re making sure we’re going to improve game by game.”