Tamayo, Abadiano join UP Maroons

MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines showed a bountiful catch in high school stars Carl Tamayo and Gerry Abadiano to further bolster its massive offseason recruiting spree for Season 83.

The Fighting Maroons announced the commitment of the two Gilas Pilipinas Youth standouts from National University yesterday when they were officially welcomed in Diliman by coach Bo Perasol and team manager Agaton Uvero.

Over the years, the 6-foot-7 Tamayo and the crafty floor general Abadiano played a major part in NU’s high school basketball dynasty with multiple championships in the UAAP, Palarong Pambansa and NBTC, punctuated by 16-0 sweep in Season 82.

They also played strong supporting roles for twin towers Kai Sotto and AJ Edu in Batang Gilas’ success in the FIBA Asia Championship and World Cup tournaments.

With their solid credentials, they are expected to make an immediate impact for UP with holdovers Ricci Rivero, Kobe Paras and Bright Akhuetie following UP’s semis exit last year despite finishing as No. 2 seed behind three-time champion Ateneo.

They will be tasked to fill the hole left by Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño who decided to skip this season to focus on their Gilas stints.