The UP Fighting Maroons ended the first round of eliminations in the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament at 5-2, which is tops in the league alongside the NU Bulldogs.
Following their 91-81 victory over the UE Red Warriors, UP’s starting center, Gani Stevens, gave an honest assessment of the team’s performance, which he described as “inconsistent.”
Gani Stevens Accepts Inconsistency… For Now
The 6-foot-8 center recorded 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks in the Fighting Maroons’ final game of the first round, which turned out to be harder than expected as the Red Warriors played inspired basketball and shot lights out.
“To be honest I think we’ve been a little inconsistent. Even if some of the games went on our way like Adamson [Soaring Falcons], we were sloppy almost the whole time against Adamson [then] today,” he admitted to Rebanse.
Against Adamson, UP trailed for most of the game as the Soaring Falcons seized control early. Last season’s silver medalists came roaring back in the fourth to finally take the lead and get the 69-67 win in the end. However, the endgame was marked by controversy as Nash Racela maintains he heard the referees blow a whistle in the final seconds as Matthew Montebon completed a steal for what would’ve been Adamson’s final possession.
It was more of the same against the Red Warriors, as Gani Stevens and his teammates had to overcome multiple deficits before eventually securing the victory.
“Even so, Imma take it. We’re still a new team, we’re gelling. In the next round, we know we went through the growing pains,” he said.
UP’s Seniors Must Lead the Way
For the second round and beyond, Gani Stevens believes UP’s veterans will have to take the lead. Incidentally, he is one of them, and in the first round, he averaged 6.8 points and 7.4 rebounds. He might have to do more in the next round.
“If it’s gonna happen… it’s just about me, Noy [Remogat], Jacob [Bayla], James [Payosing], to keep leading the guys, keep reminding everyone that what happened in this first round we can’t repeat in the second round,” Stevens pointed out. “Teams will adjust, they’ll be starting to [adjust their] game plans, so we have to stay sharp.”
Gani Stevens and the Fighting Maroons will have to be sharp starting now as they shoot for solo first place on Wednesday, October 21, when they take on the UST Growling Tigers at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
