Mindset

It has been four years since the Blue Eagles continuously won the championship in UAAP Men's basketball tournament. Since then, I have not heard of UP Fighting Maroons making it belong to the top. Is it because we prioritized academics more than sports? Do UP students have more academic load compared to Tamaraws, Thomasians, or Ateneans?  Or do we lack the budget to build sports facilities for proper training? When we consider these reasons, I think that they are only minor factors. Although they can have an effect on the performance of UP, I believe there is even a greater hindrance than these.

In all of the seasons of the UAAP, UP was not always at the bottom. I remember hearing news that during the time of Benjie Paras, the Maroons dominated basketball. Although even at that time, I believe that the university's lacking of facilities and having academic load to students had no big difference compare to the present. One thing I believe that causes our losing streaks is that we have set our minds that UP will lose. Whenever there is a game, most of the UP students already expect a loss and I am one of them. It is true that I never hoped that UP will be able to comprise the top 4. Also, I would tell that it would be a miracle if UP wins against a formidable opponent like UST or Ateneo. I wonder what the players would think if they hear this statement. If I am one of the players, I would not be motivated to play and I would not also hope to win. The people already know that we have the intelligence. We just have to use and set our mind into hoping. After all, the one that we should not throw away is our hope. Even if the odds are low but as long as we have it, there would still be a chance to succeed.