In a letter to UP President Atty. Angelo Jimenez, Coach Bo Perasol, UP Diliman’s Program Director for Basketball Perasol endorsed the integration of the UP Diliman Basketball program from high school to college and the appointment of Goldwin Monteverde as concurrent coach of both the seniors and juniors’ program.

In his first year as head coach, Monteverde steered the Fighting Maroons to their first UAAP seniors’ basketball title in 36 years. Last season, he led the Fighting Maroons to a second straight finals appearance.

Monteverde, a champion high school basketball coach when he steered the NU Bullpups to back-to-back UAAP crowns and numerous championships in the NBTC National Finals, PSSBC, MMBL, and Palarong Pambansa, also led NS-NU to gold in 2018 and 2019 ASEAN School Games.

Monteverde, or “Coach Gold”, is also known for producing blue-chip recruits like Carl Tamayo, Kevin Quiambao, Harold Alarcon and Terrence Fortea, among others.

“To ensure sustainability of the program, especially now that UP’s aspirations are high, is to have an integrated and well-coordinated basketball program from high school to college,” Perasol said in his letter.

“We want to recruit players from around the country that will excel not only in basketball but will also survive the rigors of UPIS academic demand. Those young players, with proper training program and exposure, will make sure our program in the UPMBT continues,” he added.

Perasol also assured the newly installed UP President that the UP MBT Management Team will guarantee ample support to its high school squad to make it successful like its seniors’ counterpart, from recruitment and screening, academic support and tutorials, strength and conditioning, skills training, team building, basketball data analytics, improvement of training facilities, among others.

“We hope to replicate our experience in the seniors’ program and elevate the juniors’ program to become more competitive and hopefully to be back in the final four and aim for championship,” Perasol said.

Perasol added that even the current Juniors’ coach, Paolo Mendoza, on his consultation meeting last year also “yearns for such change and supports the integration and the direction of UP’s basketball program in Diliman.”

Coach Bo further emphasized that the success of the juniors’ basketball program will bring more attention and support to other UPIS sports programs like volleyball, swimming, athletics, among others, and expand assistance from the broader UP alumni community.

Once UP Administration gives its go-signal for the integration of UP Diliman’s basketball program, Perasol said it would serve as a big boost for the continued success of the UP Men’s Basketball Team and for the UPIS Juniors Fighting Maroons, so there’s nowhere to go but up.