RICCI Rivero admitted that it was a testy year for the University of the Philippines and it’s not just because they fell short of winning it all.
The Fighting Maroons bowed out of the tournament after losing to the grizzled UST Growling Tigers 68-65 in the UAAP Season 85 semifinals in a knockout match last Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The highly touted transferee out of La Salle shared that it wasn’t an easy task to blend in with a team full of stars as he and Kobe Paras joined an already loaded UP squad led by Season 84 MVP Bright Akhuetie and Juan Gomez de Liaño.
But aside from ‘fitting in,’ Rivero shared that it was a really rocky path for them from the start.
“We’ve been through a lot, not just me, the whole season, the offseason, being with my teammates, we went through, I can’t really say hell but we’ve went through so much going to the season,” Rivero said as he finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the loss.
“We weren’t able to end up to where we want to be but we’re thankful for this season.”
Though he did not go into specifics, Rivero shared that what they went through at the start wasn’t usual for a team with such high aspirations.
Injuries also played a huge role in their offseason struggles as Rivero himself sat out a few games because of an ankle injury while Juan Gomez de Liaño nursed a back injury for the whole summer.
Paras also missed the first two games of the season because of an ankle sprain.
“I don’t really have to share what we went through, but I know it’s not the usual thing that a team will go through, especially a team that's super hyped.”
At the end of the day, Rivero has no regrets as he believes that he gave everything he could in his debut for the Fighting Maroons.
He admits that his transition wasn’t as seamless as he wanted it to be but the struggles only opened new horizons for him in the future.
“For me, I gave everything. I learned how to adjust, especially on a team that’s full of stars. I really focused on defense,” Rivero shared.
“Though I have lapses because, honestly I am not really good at playing the lockdown defender kind of thing. I embraced my role a lot kasi I know this is gonna help me, not just as a basketball player - adjusting and thinking about the bigger picture and not just about myself.”
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