'MR. ATIN 'TO' is just giving credit where he thinks it's due: to his college mentor, Coach Bo Perasol.
Earlier this week, Perasol officially announced that he would step down from his post as the head coach of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
And as emotions poured in from the legion of UP supporters, the heartfelt message of Paul Desiderio — one of the UP tactician's key players during his tenure — stood out.
"Papa Bo, we love you. We wouldn't have reached our dreams without you," the Blackwater guard said in a Facebook post. "Hindi kami makakatikim ng Final Four at Finals [kung] hindi dahil sa'yo."

Remembering the Season 81 run of Coach Bo Perasol
In UAAP Season 81, Desiderio and the Maroons made quite an impression after a Cinderella run to the Final Four, their first appearance in 21 years.
They went all the way to the finals, putting up a fierce fight against the Ateneo Blue Eagles in a Battle of Katipunan that saw Desiderio earn the nickname 'Mr. Atin 'To.'
The man calling the shots from the sidelines was Coach Bo. Since then, it was never the same inside the team.
The following year, UP Maroons made it past the quarterfinals before being felled by the University of Santo Tomas in the semis.
It was a sensational pair of endings for a team that has endured bottom two finishes for the past two two decades.
"Maraming salamat coach dahil umasenso ang mga Bisaya boys," Desiderio joked. "Tumaba si Janjan [Jaboneta] dahil marami nang foods at napagawa na ni Jun [Manzo] ang ngipin at mukha niya."
Jaboneta and Manzo, together with Desiderio, were — Cebuanos all — key players in Perasol's rotation.
Meanwhile, younger gens Juan Gomez de Liano and Javi Gomez de Liano, both bound for Japan, also aired their messages of appreciation to their mentor.


"Thankful for the 3 years we had together! Blessed to have you as a mentor on and off the court. Twas an amazing ride, coach! Appreciate you. #Believe," said the new Earth Friends Tokyo Z guard said.
His older brother Javi, who's suiting up for the Ibaraki Robots, added: "Thank you for the 4 amazing years coach. Thru ups and downs, we got each other’s backs."
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