Camille Naredo

UP MBT assistant coach Tom Chua, transferee Veejay Pre, head coach Goldwin Monteverde. Handout/UPOASD

UP MBT assistant coach Tom Chua, transferee Veejay Pre, head coach Goldwin Monteverde.

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1748083719124UPVeejayPre.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="UP MBT assistant coach Tom Chua, transferee Veejay Pre, head coach Goldwin Monteverde. Handout/UPOASD"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">UP MBT assistant coach Tom Chua, transferee Veejay Pre, head coach Goldwin Monteverde. <em>Handout/UPOASD</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- Veejay Pre&#x27;s road to the University of the Philippines was far from straightforward. </p><p>The University of the Philippines announced on Friday that Pre committed to play for their basketball program after a much-publicized departure from Far Eastern University.</p><p>Pre will have to sit out the upcoming UAAP season and will have two seasons of eligibility with the Fighting Maroons. Even now, there are already high expectations for Pre, the UAAP Season 87 Rookie of the Year, as UP considers him a &quot;plug-and-play&quot; replacement for B.League-bound Francis Lopez and another forward in  Aldous Torculas.</p><p>UP&#x27;s acquisition of Pre has stirred plenty of speculation, despite a firm statement from the university that they &quot;respected&quot; FEU throughout the process.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/5/20/-once-a-tamaraw-always-a-tamaraw-veejay-pre-announces-feu-exit-0056">READ: Veejay Pre announces FEU exit</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/5/23/uaap-veejay-pre-officially-transfers-to-up-after-feu-exit-1420">READ: Veejay Pre officially transfers to UP after FEU exit</a></div><p>&quot;What&#x27;s fortunate about all this is that hindi naman tayo nandun when reports and rumors began. We respected FEU, and kinausap lang natin si Veejay nung nakapag-decide at nakapagpaalam na siya sa FEU,&quot; said Office of Athletics and Sports Development Director Bo Perasol.</p><p>A source with knowledge of the situation reiterated to ABS-CBN News that UP only formally reached out to Pre and his family last Monday, May 19 -- once the player had already informed FEU management of his decision to leave.</p><p>The player had made it clear that it was not an easy decision, as he wanted to stay with FEU -- the program that developed him into one of the most promising young big men in the country.</p><p>Ultimately, however, Pre decided to follow the advice of his family. It was last May 8 that FEU athletics director Mark Molina revealed that Pre was <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/5/8/uaap-veejay-pre-in-tough-situation-as-family-convinces-him-to-leave-feu-2236" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">facing &quot;pressure&quot; from his own kin</a> to leave their program.</p><p>UP&#x27;s entry into the picture, per the source, came once Pre had formalized his exit with FEU. Moreover, contrary to initial reports, the stakeholders of the UP program never told their FEU counterparts that they had no plans of recruiting Pre.</p><p>Instead, their stand was to wait for Pre to make his decision before formally reaching out to him and his family.</p><p>The first official meeting between the Pre family and the UP coaching staff was scheduled on Tuesday -- a day before Pre made his decision public with an emotional Instagram post, and a day after he informed FEU of his intent to leave.</p><p>From there, the source said that the process moved quickly, helped along by daily meetings between UP and the Pre family. On Friday, Perasol and other UP officials sealed their agreement with Pre in the player&#x27;s hometown of Floridablanca, Pampanga.</p><p>Pre made one last move before things went public -- he informed De La Salle University, another team that was recruiting him, of his decision.</p><p>As for the Tamaraws, they have already begun life after Veejay Pre in the Filoil Preseason Basketball Tournament -- where they opened their campaign with a 74-57 win against the University of the East.</p><p>There, FEU head coach Sean Chambers offered a small request: &quot;We all need to move on for the betterment of Veejay.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/5/22/uaap-sean-chambers-says-we-all-need-to-move-on-from-veejay-pre-saga-1641">READ: Sean Chambers says &#x27;we all need to move on&#x27; from Veejay Pre saga</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/npQCZnqxcp8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Veejay Pre's road to the University of the Philippines was far from straightforward.</p>

Veejay Pre's road to the University of the Philippines was far from straightforward.

How UP's recruitment of Veejay Pre played out

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How UP's recruitment of Veejay Pre played out

ABS-CBN News

Published May 24, 2025 06:49 PM PHT

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