From Fighting Maroons to Flailing Maroons in the span of two games. Ano ba ’yan? After opening UAAP Season 89 with impressive wins over UST and Ateneo, the UP Fighting Maroons suddenly came crashing back to planet Earth with back-to-back losses to NU and FEU. The swagger disappeared. The crispness vanished. And more troubling, the Diliman boys again looked like a team waiting for somebody to grab the wheel. Me thinks the graduation of the “Maroon 5”—Harold Alarcon, Gerry Abadiano, Terrence Fortea, Reyland Torres, and Janjan Felicilda—left a much bigger hole than most of us expected. Not necessarily in talent. In leadership. Those five had been through the wars. They knew when to slow things down, when to bark at teammates, when to take the big shot, and when to simply stop the bleeding. This year’s UP squad has talent coming out of its ears, but when things go sideways, who says, “Enough”? Remi-GOAT can’t do it alone. Rey Remogat is now the engine of the offense, but asking him to organize the attack, create shots, score, settle everybody down, and play savior every possession is too much. Somebody else has to step forward. That somebody should be Veejay Pre. Pre has already shown he can put points on the board even when UP’s offense bogs down. But UP needs more than scoring from him. It needs presence. It needs him to assert himself, demand the ball, talk more, and become one of the faces of this new group. Francis Nnoruka, meanwhile, has had his moments, but there are stretches when he seems ineffective or disappears from the flow altogether. For somebody with his size and ability, UP needs Nnoruka making his presence felt every minute he is on the floor—not just in spurts. And then there are the young guns. Jacob Bayla. Miguel Yñiguez. Miguel Palanca. Chicco Briones. They are supposed to be next up. So far, though, we’re still waiting for the “up” part. No one is asking these kids to become Alarcon, Abadiano, or Torres overnight. But at some point, potential has to translate into production. A big defensive stop. A timely three. A hustle rebound. A loose ball. Something that changes the temperature of a game. The veterans also have to show them how. Remogat, Gani Stevens, Sean Alter, and James Payosing—yes, the latest transplant from UP’s “farm team” San Beda, he-he—need to set the tone. If the kids are tentative, the older guys have to drag them along until they stop being tentative. I digress. The other issue is on the bench. Coach Goldwin Monteverde has earned enough goodwill in Diliman to fill the Sunken Garden, but UP’s starts lately have been, to put it kindly, lackadaisical. Parang diesel na truck ang UP. Cough. Sputter. Smoke everywhere. Then finally the engine warms up when the other team is already halfway down Commonwealth Avenue. That might work occasionally, especially when you have enough talent to erase a deficit. But against good UAAP teams, you’re playing with fire. And let’s face it—the UAAP has become a minefield. FEU can beat you. NU can beat you. Ateneo can beat you. La Salle can beat you. UST can bite you. Adamson can bite you. Basically, everyone not named UE can ruin your afternoon. UP simply cannot keep spotting opponents double-digit leads, spending the next two quarters trying to climb out of the hole, and then expecting Remogat and company to perform a miracle in the fourth. Coach Gold has to get his boys ready from the opening tip. Maybe simplify things early. Get Pre involved immediately. Establish Nnoruka inside. Let Remogat dictate tempo instead of forcing him to rescue broken possessions. Most importantly, put five players on the floor who will defend and rebound like their scholarships depend on it. Because talent is not UP’s problem. Leadership and consistency are. The graduation of the Maroon 5 means somebody has to inherit not only their minutes but also their responsibility. Pre has to become louder. Remogat needs help. Nnoruka has to be steadier. Gani, Alter, and Payosing must provide veteran muscle. Bayla, Yñiguez, Palanca, and Briones have to grow up fast. And Coach Gold has to make sure the Fighting Maroons come out ready to fight—not spend the first half figuring out that there’s a game going on. Championships aren’t won by constantly digging yourself out of holes. Sometimes, the best way to complete a comeback is not to need one. Me thinks the Fighting Maroons better figure that out soon. Otherwise, “Flailing Maroons” might just stick.