COULD high-school standouts Carl Tamayo and Gerry Abadiano emerge as the missing links to the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons’ title hunt?
Team Manager Agaton Uvero and Fighting Maroons Head Coach Bo Perasol hope so.
Tamayo and Abadiano, once the 1-2 punch of the untouchable National University juniors team, hooked themselves to Diliman on Saturday, joining a UP squad that is already stacked with collegiate stars Kobe Paras, Ricci Rivero and Bright Akhuetie for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 83.
The two youngsters are expected to help fill the void left by brothers Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño, who opted to sit out the postponed Season 83.
“They will really be a big boost for our young team which is again in the process of rebuilding,” Perasol said.
The ex-Bullpups boast of hefty credentials.
The 6-foot-7 big man Tamayo and the 6-foot guard Abadiano were part of NU’s 16-0 run that won them the juniors title in Season 82. Representing the National Capital Region, the team also bagged the gold medal in the Palarong Pambansa and also bagged back-to-back crowns in the National Basketball Training Center tournament.
Also part of their impressive portfolio were stints in the International Basketball Federation Asia Under-18 Championship and the U19 World Cup in Greece.
“These two talents will help us secure our basketball future,” Uvero said. “We hope they will be model student-athletes in UP.”
The Fighting Maroons last won a UAAP men’s title in 1986 behind the fresh off the juniors tournament Benjie Paras and spitfire guards Ronnie Magsanoc and Eric Altamirano.
UP also earlier recruited Ethan Kirkness, Sam Dowd, Anton Eusebio, Alonso Tan and Miguel Tan.
1 comment