FROM ZERO TO HERO

Spitfire Paul Desiderio experienced both the worst of times and the best of times in his storybook stint with University of the Philippines. When he first came in, the Maroons laid a big fat egg in Season 76. Five years and a ton of trials and sacrifices later, the Maroons shed this losing image and even came tantalizingly close to a first UAAP cage diadem since 1986.“Syempre, napakasarap. Nandoon ako nung 0-14, tapos ngayon nag-finals at nagkaroon ng chance na mag-champion (Of course it feels great. I was there at 0-14, now the finals and a chance to become champion),” said Desiderio, who in the tailend of his UAAP career gratefully accepted his role as the face of UP’s turn-around. “Ang dami kong sakripisyo sa team pero worth it lahat (I sacrificed a lot for the team but it’s all worth it),” said the stalwart from Liloan, Cebu. “Pasenya lang talaga (It’s really patience). Player ka from Cebu, 0-14 ang start mo, inexpect talaga lilipat ng school pero nag-pasensya lang ako. Tiniis ko, one win kahit na parang mukha na kaming loko. Pag-graduate ko naman, finals (I was expected to change schools but I stayed on and persisted, one win, even though we looked like fools. Now that I’m graduating, we’re in the finals),” he added. Desiderio carved his name as a folk hero by taking the big shots at crunch time for UP and embodying their relentless efforts to make the Maroons relevant again. He famously blurted the words “Atin ’to” – this is ours – during a huddle in 2017 and backed it up with the gamewinning triple. Thus the “Atin ’To” battlecry was born. In his final game in maroon, the crowd gave him a standing ovation with matching “De-side-rio” and “A-tin-to” chants. “Actually parang nahihiya na nga ako kasi kanina andaming puro ‘Atin ’to’ pero masaya naman. Pero inisip ko rin pag crunchtime, hindi ko ma-shoot, e di hindi atin to (I was embarrassed but happy. But I thought that if at crunch time I couldn’t shoot, it won’t be ours),” he said, smiling. “Sobrang saya, kasi maraming naniwala na positive lang talaga at kaya ring manalo ng mahihinang teams (Really happy, because many now believe in being positive and that even weaker teams can win).”

“Atin ’To” has actually been adopted by others as rallying cry. “Baka magpapabayad na ako (I might start charging)… joke lang,” he said, laughing. “Masaya na ginagamit nila, naniniwala sila na kaya nilang manalo (I’m glad they’re using it, believing they too can win).” – Olmin Leyba