MANILA – University of the Philippines (UP) got the commitment of Carl Tamayo and Gerry Abadiano to join its men's basketball team for the upcoming University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season.
Tamayo and Abadiano, formerly of Nazareth School of National University, will be playing for the Fighting Maroons for Season 83, tentatively scheduled to start early next year.
“Carl and Gerry will be a big part of our rebuilding efforts,” Agaton Uvero, UP's team manager, said on Saturday. “We graduated six players last season and we have five more players who have just one playing year left. These two will help us secure our basketball future. We hope they will be model student-athletes of UP.”
Fighting Maroons head coach Bo Perasol said Tamayo and Abadiano “will really a big boost” for the UP young team which is in the processing of rebuilding.
“We are very happy to have Carl and Gerry in our team. Coming straight out of high school, they have five full playing years with the team,” Perasol said.
Asked why they opted to move to UP instead of staying in NU, both Tamayo and Abadiano said that UP has been their "dream school."
"Education is one of my reasons for picking the school and siyempre ‘yung basketball program din (of course the basketball program too)," Tamayo, an incoming sports science major, said.
"Hindi lang ito tungkol sa paglalaro. Yung napili ko rin dito is education. Kapag natapos na [ang basketball], 'di natin masabi ano mangyayari. Ang importante ay maganda ang tinapos namin (This is not just about playing. What I chose too here is education. When basketball is over, we do not know what will happen next. The important thing is that we graduated with high regards)," added Abadiano, who took up a degree program in tourism.
Tamayo and Abadiano will join fellow Gilas Pilipinas Youth player RC Calimag, Miguel Tan, Alonso Tan, and Anton Eusebio, Ethan Kirkness, and Sam Dowd as the Fighting Maroons' rookies for Season 83.
Tamayo and Abadiano are not the only Bullpups who will head elsewhere as Kevin Quiambao committed to the De La Salle Green Archers. (PNA)
