Maroons-Eagles will be offense vs defense

The way UAAP Season 82 has panned out so far, the only sure thing seems to be games going down the wire with seven matches already decided by a single point, three more than the season before.

Getting dragged into these gripping encounters, however, doesn’t seem to worry University of the Philippines coach Bo Perasol, whose Maroons are bracing for another tough test Sunday when they face the unbeaten Ateneo Blue Eagles in their first duel since last season’s title series.

Perasol feels the best is yet to come for his star-studded squad, which, interestingly, has scored a total of 427 points, one less than what the Maroons have given up in their first six games this season—though they have a 5-1 record.

Those five UP wins came with a total winning margin of 15 points, and its lone loss came against University of Santo Tomas, 85-69.

“I have a team that’s loaded with offensive players and the tendency we’re trying to address right now is how do we maximize everyone’s talents,” said Perasol.

“I don’t think it’s coming into play yet. What’s happening now is that having too many of these offensive players makes us lose our flow on offense. But in crunch time we always like our chances because we have players who can take charge and hit big shots. But of course, it’s a concern.”

The burden of expectations is also bearing down on his players, with the likes of Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero beefing up the team this season.

But Perasol said there’s actually more talented players in the league this year—albeit less heralded—counting the emergence of Rey Suerte of University of the East and Rhenz Abando of UST.

“This season has been really competitive as every team has improved,” said Perasol, noting that even National U, which owns a 1-5 record, could have easily been in the Top 4 if not for a string of one-point losses.

“It just so happened that some of our players already have established themselves individually. But in terms of experience, Ateneo has the edge.”

Perasol said his players are still working on their cohesion as they did not have a complete lineup in most of their training camps in the lead-up to the season.

Juan Gomez de Liaño, who nailed the game-winning triple in the 72-71 squeaker over La Salle last  Thursday, missed majority of the preseason due to an injury.

The former Rookie of the Year also had to overcome an ankle sprain before returning to the game in the final three minutes.

“Juan was our go-to guy last year, and he will always be there at crunch time, but the dynamics have changed this season,” said Perasol.

“But we’re hoping we can really accelerate our progress this season.”