UP MBT reveals bonding difficulties, triumph preps for UAAP S83

Preparing for the 83rd Season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the University of the Philippines (UP) Men's Basketball Team shared the challenges their team encountered on preparations during the pandemic in terms of communication and bondings, and their plans on the upcoming season.

In an online press conference, UP MBT Head Coach Bo Perasol and Head Captain Noah Webb expressed the situation of the team without face-to-face training.

"We've been in constant contact with the team, no, we have probably [met] once or twice a month. So right now, most of them are busy because classes have started in UP," Perasol stated.

Webb, in his second time captaining the team, shared how being healthy as a group is their key takeaway, mentioning how he and his teammates have been playing online games as a bonding opportunity for them. 

"Coach Bo mentioned this a while ago, because if you can't really play together a lot, especially with players who used to have the ball in their hands often, it is going to create some friction, eventually down the line," Webb expressed.

About the bondings of the team towards one another, Coach Bo mentioned that the connections and the bonds of the team are difficult, especially with the restrictions of physical training.

"Hindi mo pwedeng i-microwave ang chemistry no? ang connection, hindi mo pwedeng gawan ng magic like 'oh eto eto' and then you'll all be connected," he stated.

As the team recruits big names which drive fans to predict good outcomes , Coach Bo shared in his decade-long appearance in college basketball and clarified that "you don't get good performances by having good perceptions."

"Pinaka-example namin dyan would be the last season, no? So even with Kobe [Paras], Ricci [Rivera], Juan [De Liaño], Noah [Webb], Javi [De Liaño] and all of that, we still came short, so ibig sabihin hindi sya enough," Perasol stressed.

"Hindi naman yan pag sinabi mong, ito si, para bang kumuha ka ng isang LeBron James, isang Michael Jordan, isang Shaquille O'Neal, isang Kobe Bryant na nilagay mo dyan," he added.

Perasol also told that they still keep up with individual workouts and training in Zoom and are prepared to go back to practice face-to-face if permitted to do so.

"We just have to survive this na making sure na pag nag-ensayo kami, walang infected in all of that, kasi magagawan naman yan ng paraan eh," he expressed.

The two revealed how the team has been pressured to win this season, sharing that they always have to put themselves in a situation to succeed.

"It's kind of useless or meaningless to prepare for something and then in the end you're going to just take it back na shriek back na 'aah ayoko, ayoko...' parang yes, there's still worries in your mind but the pressure right now is a result of the hard work that we have been preparing for the last two years," Perasol noted.

There haven't been any announcements lately about the start of UAAP Season 83, but it has been considered to be conducted in January 2021.