UP’s Terrence Fortea. Handout/UAAP Media

MANILA — The University of the Philippines (UP) was stunned by National University with a 20-point, 67-47 beatdown on Sunday in their UAAP Season 87 faceoff.

READ: Patrick Yu, Jake Figueroa power National U's huge upset of UP

Entering the game with a 9-1 record, and poised to clinch the twice-to-beat incentive against the lowly Bulldogs, the Fighting Maroons were dealt with a 24-8 start, and this eventually resulted in UP absorbing a deficit that grew to as many as 27 points late in the game.

According to league statistician Pong Ducanes, UP also tallied a lot of unwanted numbers during their game against National U.

The Maroons' 30 turnovers are the most that they committed under the tutelage of UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde, and their 47-point production is also their lowest with the former NU-Nazareth chief in charge.

In addition, this is also the first time that UP scored under 50 in the Monteverde era, and since September 25, 2016, when they lost to Far Eastern University, 51-49.

Also rubbing more salt into the Fighting Maroons' wounds, this is the Bulldogs' first win over UP since 2022 wherein NU defeated them in the first round of Season 85, 80-75, on October 12 of that year.

But despite these woes, Monteverde is opting to look at how they can improve and bounce back as the Maroons enter the closing stretch of the elimination round.

UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde. Handout/UAAP Media"Whether we win the game or we lose the game, we always try to find the things to improve on — individually and also as a team," said Monteverde, whose squad only shot a paltry 17-65 (26.2%) from the field. "I believe naman na sa mga ganitong klaseng game, it should make us stronger."

He also gave full credit to the Bulldogs, who entered the game with a subpar 2-8 record but showed plenty of grit on both ends of the floor.

"I'm not gonna take anything away from NU," emphasized Monteverde. "They played good defense sa amin tonight."

However, the Fighting Maroons did not respond to the effort that National U showed against them, the champion coach bared.

"Siyempre, being the opposing team, pag dini-defense ka ng maayos, dapat it should call for better execution on our part," he said. "We had some open shots naman, but we were not making it."

"Sa mga ganung situation, I think we could execute better," he added.

With only a few games before the Final Four starts, Monteverde is challenging his troops to fix their issues not with a band-aid solution, but right from its roots.

"Actually, kahit sa unang game pa lang, yung mga slow starts na yan [ang problema]," he pointed out. "So we need to think of ways para maiwasan yun. Ang importante lang, when we approach every game, alam namin na prepared kami.

"We should have that mindset to be able to execute on both ends."

Up next for UP is another rematch with their Season 86 Finals clash against De La Salle University on November 10 at the Araneta Coliseum. However, Monteverde maintains that his players must not look at the fanfare that surrounds the anticipated matchup between the two modern-day UAAP rivals.

"I think that we should have the same mindset for every game," he said. "Whether it's La Salle, NU, or Adamson [University], every game naman sa amin will be a championship game for us. Every game, we demand to give the best that we could."

A win against La Salle will assure UP of a twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four.

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