AS unpredictable as the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball tournament has been, there's only one preseason forecast that's still holding up - University of the Philippines at the top of the leaderboard.
Seeing the Fighting Maroons at 8-1 and looking down on the cream of the crop in college basketball still feels surreal considering that it wasn't long ago when they were the league's whipping boys, when hardly any student or alumni cared about the team's progress.
Oh, how times have changed. The Diliman boys are the defending champions and are the current season leaders, their reign expected to go beyond the season. To the next.
[READ: UP coach says selfless Diouf a blessing for Maroons]
Now, every game is a marquee that the league made it a point to sell tickets for their matchups against traditional powerhouse Ateneo and La Salle separately from the rest of the games in the second round.
But unlike the case for defending champions of seasons' past, these Fighting Maroons really take you for a wild ride, intentional or not; they win by a mile, win ugly, win close games, but always find ways to win.
UP fans have gone through a roller-coaster of emotions from the onset with its first three games all won in come-from-behind fashion; these Maroons have already gone through two overtime games, both of which it was able to win.
Even in their lone blowout of the season, a 76-51 rout of University of Santo Tomas, the Fighting Maroons showcased their full arsenal that the fans at Ynares Center in Antipolo were still glued to their seats late in the no-contest.
And it all starts with coach Goldwin Monteverde's mantra of never going too high and never going too low, no matter what the game's outcome is. It also helps that he has players who embrace his system wholeheartedly, most of them coming from his proud high school program at Nazareth School-NU.
Carl Tamayo realizing his full potential while still being in a UP uniform feels like the Maroons having a cheat code, with the Gilas Pilipinas forward happy to pick his spots and rescue the team when he feels like it.
Not even the hamstring injury on lead guard JD Cagulangan slowed down the Fighting Maroons as the likes of the gritty Gerry Abadiano and the sweet-shooting Terrence Fortea were happy to fill the gaps, showcasing the UP bench's depth.
Zavier Lucero, the much-celebrated recruit from last season, has displayed an improved stroke from deep as he has so far shot a jaw-dropping 51.7-percent from beyond the three-point arc.
James Spencer has also emerged to be a dependable option on the wings, while Malick Diouf remains as solid as they come down low.
Heck, even the players who you might consider as "magic hugot" like Harold Alarcon, rookie big Henry Galinato, and Cyril Gonzales - who anchored UP's 76-63 revenge win over National University just last Sunday - have delivered for the Iskos.
Opposing teams face a pick-your-poison situation when facing UP, and though a lot consider them as the league's benchmark, Monteverde still feels that this team has yet to reach its potential as he looks to rectify a few of its miscues.
Compare that to their top rivals.
Ateneo, as great a coach as Tab Baldwin is, is still finding its groove with a young core linking up with old reliables Ange Kouame and Dave Ildefonso.
La Salle, expected to compete for the cup early in the season, has stumbled to the middle of the table with coach Derick Pumaren lamenting his side's inability to close out games and play defense.
NU, the surprise team of the first round behind the no nonsense approach of coach Jeff Napa, still hasn't found the consistent offensive tonic to make the leap from good to great.
Adamson's supporting cast must step up in order to aid the brilliance of Jerom Lastimosa; teams like University of the East and Far Eastern University are still considerably two lengths behind the defending champs; and let's spare ourselves the pain of talking about UST, for now.
We still have five games left to play in the eliminations and a lot can happen from now until the final game in the second round. But if there's one thing that's crystal clear, it is this: the road to the championship still goes through UP.
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