MANILA — There will be no first round sweep for the University of the Philippines in UAAP Season 86.

This, after the Fighting Maroons failed to complete a comeback against the defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Rookie big man Mason Amos caught fire in the payoff period and in overtime, and for UP veteran CJ Cansino, this was a result of them showing signs of complacency.

“Kulang pa. For the past games namin yun lang yung nagiging problema namin. Hinihintay muna naming may sumapak samin bago kami sumapak,” he said, after putting up 22 points, six rebounds, two blocks, an assist, and a steal.

Cansino had displayed his emotions during the game, at one point even shushing the Ateneo crowd at the Pasay venue. But for the UP captain, what affected him more was the way they handled Ateneo’s late-game pushback.

“Meron din talagang emotions, pero mas nalungkot ako na ‘di kami natututo sa mga past games namin dahil nananalo kami.”

“Hopefully, itong talo namin mas matuto kami para mas mabuti for second round.”

Head coach Goldwin Monteverde then went on to emphasize their need to improve on their consistency as they enter the second half of the year.

“Sa standings nakita natin we’re number one, but sakin, we’re just halfway through the season,” he said.

“Our concern right now is how to play consistently. We just have to gather ourselves together and be ready for the games,” the coach added.

“Yung effort was there,” he added, talking about their comeback attempt. “Pero we need to learn in such a way that we can do that all game. But we just gotta back na we just need to be consistent about doing things.”

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