A coach ready to get back on top. Another just starting out.
They will be two of the interesting personalities calling the shots in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
As expected, the goals of Sean Chambers and Goldwin Monteverde will be different.
University of the Philippines wants to get another taste of the sweet triumph it experienced two seasons back, when the Maroons ended a 36-year-wait for a UAAP title.
“Every game, there should be aggression,” Monteverde said.
The hosts were playing across-the-street rival Ateneo at press time, looking to rediscover the hunger that fueled the team when it still hadn’t followed through on its 1986 championship.
“We can’t lose the hunger because that hunger is essential to get back [on top] and try to achieve our ultimate goal,” Monteverde said. “We need that hunger and it can be lost on us [in every game].”
The Maroons captured the Season 84 title, yielded it to Ateneo in the return match the following school year and then reached the Season 86 finals only to bow to now defending champion La Salle.
Far Eastern University, meanwhile, just wants to be better than average.
“We need to try to get to .500 as my goal, to get to .500 and then after that, we’ll just see where everything goes from there,” said Chambers, the former Alaska import who is one of the greatest reinforcements to ever play in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Modest target
Chambers’ modest target is best understood by looking at where he’s coming from.
The Tamaraws won just three of 14 matches last season and sport a young team with seven freshmen.
“We got to remember our stars are young men,” the 59-year-old coach said. “They’re good, but they’re young. And I don’t think it’s going to be a simple adjustable plug-in there to start playing right away. They’re all coming from high school. So we’re going to be playing seven freshmen. Next year, after going through the wars and the battles, I expect us to be considered one of the top two teams in the league.”
One thing that both Monteverde and Chambers will both deal with is integrating their newcomers into whatever core they have.
For UP, that core is still formidable, with Gerry Abadiano, Janjan Felicilda, Terrence Fortea, JD Cagulangan, Rookie of the Year Francis Lopez and Harold Alarcon now backstopped by rookie Quentin Millora-Brown.
“[I expect this season] to be competitive. Every coach has good programs so we need to prepare for every game,” Monteverde said.
That includes Chambers, whose Tamaraws debut on Sunday.