‘War not yet over’: No-quit Maroons go for equalizer vs Archers

MANILA, Philippines — No retreat, no surrender.

That's the marching order of mentor Goldwin Monteverde for reigning champion University of the Philippines as the Fighting Maroons enter an uncharted territory following a defeat in Game 1, their first under the great tactician's watch in a stellar era marked by five straight finals appearances and two championships so far.

"We just lost a battle. The war is not over yet," declared the embattled tactician following UP's 74-70 loss to rival La Salle in the opener of their finals trilogy witnessed by more than 18,000 fans the other day at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Monteverde, since taking over the Diliman hoops program in 2022, beat Ateneo twice and La Salle twice in the opener of the last four titular showdowns, winning half of it eventually including last season at the expense of two-time MVP Kevin Quiambao.

The second-seeded UP, with a week-long rest after dispatching University Santo Tomas in one attempt compared to La Salle that had to beat NU twice in the Final Four, was on poise to keep that streak and shore up its second straight title bid by controlling the majority of the match, including a nine-point lead entering the fourth period before melting down. Prior to that, UP was 9-1 this season when leading after three quarters.

But a new hero for the Green Archers rose to hunt them this time around in the name of second-generation player Jacob Cortez, who's out to deliver a title to Taft just like his dad Mike. Cortez thrusted a dagger on the Maroons' hearts in Game 1 with the game-sealing triple in the last 30 seconds to finish with 21 points.

Cortez' heroics negated the 34-point eruption of UP ace Harold Alarcon, the league's highest since Thirdy Ravena's 38 in 2018. For UP to retaliate and drag the series to another winner-take-all next week, the entire Fighting Maroons need to show up and Monteverde brims with confidence that they will.

'"Yung 34 points ni Harold, of course, kailangan ng team ‘yun. But then, hindi naman pwedeng si Harold lang. It's just that as a team, kailangan namin mag-contribute din, hindi lang siya," Monteverde rallied, calling on his usual gunners Gerry Abadiano, Terrence Fortea, Rey Remogat, Gani Stevens and Francis Nnoruka to rediscover their fiery form—now or never.

“This is not the first time na natalo kami, so we’re just reminding ourselves na we started the season na 0-2 nga. Kaya I believe ‘yung team namin knows how to bounce back from mga ganitong situation. In every finals game, we should just want it more."