I’m extremely happy with the way things are going for the UP Fighting Maroons. The 67th UAAP basketball season started with me not expecting much from my university’s team, especially with the loss of key player Jay-R Reyes. Therefore, it was no surprise that UP lost all six of its first games, winning only after defeating NU to end with a 1–6 win-loss card in the first round.

I received an e-mail about two weeks back from a fellow UP alumnus asking for prayers and support for the UP team. Back then, UP had four straight wins and some optimistic people figured that if UP wins most of its remaining games, it would have a chance at a final four finish, something UP has not achieved since 1988. I though then, “Wow! At least, di na kulelat ang UP this year.” But given that UP then still had to face the heavyweights—FEU, Ateneo, and La Salle—I doubted that UP will still be lucky.

It was a pleasant surprise to learn from my brother that UP defeated FEU last Saturday. UP defeated FEU? It seemed as unbelievable as the twin upsets last season when NU defeated Ateneo and UP defeated La Salle during one exciting Thursday afternoon.

Last Thursday, the big “Battle of Katipunan” part 2 happened. I still doubted that UP will win this time against Ateneo, particularly because Ateneo was the number one team. So it was in complete glee that I read in an SMS, “Game 2: ADMU-69 UP-74 Final”. UP defeated Ateneo? Wow! (A good story can be found over at University Belt.)

It seems God must be smiling down on this “atheist” university. UP struggled and eventually beat every single one of the teams it has faced so far in the second round. UP now stands in fifth place, matching its 1998 elimination round finish with a win-loss card of 6–6. It now competes with UE (7–5) for the fourth slot in the semi-finals.

An enterprising orgmate of mine spent last Thursday night examining all the possibilities. It seems that UP does indeed have a good chance of getting into the Magic Four. If UP manages to win both of its remaining games against La Salle and NU, and if UE loses one of its two games, UP and UE will both have an 8–6 win-loss card. But because of the quotient system UP will go to the semis (UP won 8 points over UE, 65–57, while UE only defeated UP with 7 points, 63–56).

On the other hand, if UP and UE manage to win both of their remaining games, it means that La Salle, at third place (8–4), would’ve been beaten twice, leaving them with a win-loss card of 8–6. UP will tie them at 8–6, so to get in using the quotient system, UP just needs to defeat La Salle with at least 2 points since La Salle won over UP in the first round, 69–68.

So UP’s key game is the upcoming match with La Salle later today. If UP wins over La Salle with at least 2 points and UP doesn’t waste its game with NU, UP will definitely be in the final four. La Salle will have a very rough time since it will be fighting UP and UE, the two teams who have most to gain in this season.

If the UP Fighting Maroons get into the Final Four, I promise to watch their game live—something I have never done before. (That is, of course, if the game is on a Saturday and there are tickets left to buy!)