The Final Score: From Maroons to Marooned in the UAAP

Lost. Frustrated. Distraught. Stunned. Take your pick. One can only imagine how 0-6 feels. How does one go from conquerors of Ateneo and La Salle in 2009…to toast of the summer leagues in April 2010…to a team of promise in May…to UAAP Final Four hopeful in June…to a team in turmoil by July and, finally, to zero and six in August? The UP Fighting Maroons don't even know where to begin.

In UP's game against Ateneo on Thursday, the first "Battle of Katipunan" of the season, The Fighting Maroons flirted with prominence in the first half only to wilt like day-old french fries in the second half. The game mirrored UP's journey so far; a midnight hell-ride from the summer of the future to the quagmire of the present. It must feel like "Inception" out there, only the scene of the crime isn't the mind during a subconscious state. It's highway robbery right there on the hardcourt. From redemption to Inception. Where did it all go wrong? A supposed team on the rise must have the weapons to back the hype. The Blue Eagles revealed UP's lack of firepower in a lopsided second half. Having one Mike Silungan doesn't guarantee success. Not even Paul Lee can do that. In the cutthroat arms race that's the UAAP, Final Four contenders are stacked with scorers, inside and outside. Defense, then, sets apart title contenders from Final Four aspirants. UP just doesn't have enough of both. In UP's loss to UE last July 31, a game between winless teams, the Maroons' best shot to win at last, Silungan played a masterpiece of a second half. It was a cumbersome effort to carry a 0-4 team all the way to the doorstep of success – a labor of love. All Paul Lee had to do to ruin the dream was to shake, bake, take one step back and leisurely drain the dagger jumper, like he was just warming up for practice in the middle of February, to push the Warriors ahead in a close game. Dream over. When a team already owns the spoiler's role even before we hit the middle of August, it's almost fruitless to address questions with elusive answers. Did UP have Final Four credentials to begin with? Did they ever recover from the stunning opening day loss to La Salle? Should they have changed coaches in the middle of the first round? Will this place undue pressure on the UP Pep Squad yet again? Can the Fighting Maroons still bounce back? I'm certain the coaches and players had reason to aspire before the season. Victories over elite teams the year before, morale-boosting games during the pre-season, a blend of experience and incoming youth, support from sponsors and the optimism inspired by a 0-0 win-loss slate can make anyone believe. They must've seen something others didn't see. Not even halfway through the tournament, however, Coach Aboy Castro is gone. The intense pressure to make the Final Four, likewise, is gone, for good. - GMANews.TV