MANILA, Philippines — Rookie Louis Gamban and the UP Fighting Maroons took the UAAP by storm on Wednesday, after scoring an emphatic upset over the Ateneo Blue Eagles in straight sets.
Clicking on all cylinders, last year's eighth placers had a dominant showing against the former Katipunan powerhouse.
Related Stories
But the talk of the town wasn't so much on their game play, but the attitude of the Maroons each time they scored a point.
Most notably Gamban, all the Fighting Maroons showed off confidence that would put any other opponent to shame.
Louis Gamban doesn't stop ???? #UAAPSeason82Volleyball pic.twitter.com/HqneaRXNV9
— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) March 4, 2020
WE STAN LOUIS GAMBAN ????? #UAAPSeason82Volleyball pic.twitter.com/coH7D2VOT2
— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) March 4, 2020
In the final stretch of the match, Gamban hyped up the UP crowd in the stands with his antics — strutting on the court and posing as fierce as he can after every rally.
But the Diliman rookie played his actions down, saying it was all part of the game plan.
"Charot charot lang po yun nagsorry ako sa Ateneo," Gamban said in the post-game press conference.
"Kasama po yun nasa plano po yun namin nila coach, sa training po kasi kung ano yung tinetraining namin, masaya kami sa training, [so] masaya [rin] kami nagpunta dito," he added.
Gamban, a product of University of Perpetual Help in high school, had a stellar debut for the Fighting Maroons.
He scored 10 points in the three-set contest, including a personal 4-0 run in the final set to seal the deal for the UP squad.
While it may too be early to tell, UP's season opener performance could mean they are definitely one of the teams to beat this year.