LEAP OF FAITH
Rivero gambles on new team
When Ricci Rivero walked away from De La Salle University, he wasn’t just leaving a school with glorious winning tradition.
He also relinquished a golden chance to become the main star in a team has been a championship contender year in and year out in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
Still, he rolled the dice. “When my family decided that we will be leaving La Salle, the first thing I thought was to try it out again in the United States because I was looking at the bigger picture at that time,” said Rivero, who blossomed into one of the brightest stars in the collegiate circuit.
Rivero’s journey that was supposed to end up on shiny parquet floor of distinguished American colleges ended in the country’s premier state university when a high school pal plotted a plan.
Kobe Paras, his teammate at the La Salle Green Hills, invited him to play together to bring back the lost glory of University of the Philippines (UP), a school that launched the colorful career of his dad, Benjie.
It was a golden opportunity, something that Rivero couldn’t refuse.
“When I talked to Kobe, who was at the US at that time, we came up with a decision of attending UP to play together. That was really the biggest factor why I chose UP. Kobe really played a key role in my decision,” Rivero said.
“We were teammates back in high school so it’s really great to play with him again. Aside from that, we were also really close back then as we live next to each other.”
It didn’t take long for Rivero to get used to his new environment.
“I really felt that I can be super at home at UP — and that’s what exactly I need. They made me feel welcome.”
At UP, Rivero joined a powerhouse roster featuring Paras, Nigerian Bright Akhuetie, Jun Manzo and Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño. Their coach is Bo Perasol, one of the hardcourt heroes of the Fighting Maroons back in the day.
With a solid cast of teammates and a brilliant coach, Rivero knew that he has to reinvent the wheel if he wants to help the Fighting Maroons snap their three decades of frustrations.
“I knew that we have a lot of scorers so I was really focused on playing defense,” he said.
“I was thinking that I could help by playing defense because it is what we are really lacking.”
But things didn’t go according to script.
The Fighting Maroons, for all their firepower on the court and star power on paper, fell prey to a hungrier, more motivated University of Santo Tomas squad in the Final Four of Season 82.
Although the Growling Tigers lose to Ateneo de Manila University in the best-of-three finals series, the fact still remained that desire and willingness could outmatch hype and popularity.
“We were overhyped, to be honest. But we realized that we can do a lot better than what we showed in Season 82,” Rivero said, vowing to show up with fire in their eyes when the league unveils its Season 83.
“It’s really not about the composition of the team or how good your players are. It all boils down on how your guys will jell as a team.
“If we cannot jell, nothing will happen. We will forever be bridesmaids.”
Rivero admitted that it’s still a long way to go before he could tow UP to glory.
But he’s willing to work hard. He’s willing to prove that his leap of faith is worth it.
It’s really not about the composition of the team