UP ace Ricci Rivero insists he has no ax to grind against La Salle

NO axe to grind against La Salle.

Those are the words Ricci Rivero offered following the University of the Philippines Maroons' 92-85 overtime win against his former school in the 2019 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup on Sunday.

"Nothing really special naman. Like what coach Bo (Perasol) said, it's not about winning against La Salle or winning against any other team. We're playing basketball here, so it's about winning each and every game, one game at a time," he said.

Rivero was stupendous in every sense of the word in this game, firing 10 of his 28 points in the overtime period, on top of eight rebounds and two steals to will UP to back-to-back wins in the summer tournament.

He even had the game-saving block on Andrei Caracut's three-point attempt late in regulation that paved the way for an extra five minutes.

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Still, the main goal for the high-flyer isn't to show the Green Archers what they've been missing since the sudden parting of ways in 2017.

"It's not just beating this team or whatever, that won't make you a good team. What makes your team good is first by staying together, trusting each other, and trusting the system. And then next is the willingness to win. It's not just beating any specific team," he said.

Rivero, however, won't deny that it was a surreal experience going up once again against former teammates like Aljun Melecio and Caracut, more than a year removed since he transferred from Taft to Diliman.

"I haven't played with Aljun for so long. Lahat ng players, nagi-improve. Yung game nila before, hindi na 'yun 'yung pa rin nila," he said of the reunion. "But again for us, I think it's just yung willingness lang talaga to win."

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