For the fourth year in a row, the University of the Philippines has owned most of the headlines in the collegiate basketball offseason.
Already armed with four of the top ten high school players and a handful of Filipino-foreigners as new recruits, the Fighting Maroons seem to be all set for now until the foreseeable future.
Just like they were in 2019 when they got Kobe Paras; 2020 when they scored Carl Tamayo, Zavier Lucero, and Malick Diouf; and 2022 when they welcomed Henry Galinato and Aldous Torculas.
At the same time as the additions, though, come the subtractions. From Will Gozum to Bismarck Lina and from Juan Gomez de Liaño to James Spencer, State U now has a long list of players who left earlier than expected.
And so, for the fourth year in a row as well, UP is being seen by many as perpetrators of so-called "over-recruitment."
Indeed, only one ball can be played with, and only five players can be on the court. On average, a team counts nine players in its regular rotation -- meaning, almost half of the 15-man lineup, more often than not, spends much of its time on the bench.
The Fighting Maroons don't see it that way, though.
"Hindi tayo 'nag-over-recruit.' Ang tingin ko, kaya lang nasasabi yun, kasi yung nire-recruit namin is puro quality players, marquee players," answered program director Bo Perasol after being asked about their perceived over-abundance of talent.
"Pero sa totoo lang, 19 lang angpool natin for next season. Lampas-lampas pa yung ibang program dyan. Wala nga tayong Team B."
To be clear, none of those who have exited have outright stated that they needed a breath of fresh air because it got too crowded in Diliman.
Still, time has told that more often than not, those who leave UP earlier than expected fortunately found out that the grass was greener on the other side.
There's Juan GDL and brother Javi, as well as Paras, who became Asian quota imports in Japan's BLeague. There's Spencer who's also being eyed for an international stint.
Most of all, there's Gozum who only saw the floor for a total of 72 minutes in his two seasons in maroon in green before transferring to College of St. Benilde and emerging as an NCAA MVP, all while leading the Blazers to their first finals in two decades.
As always, however, context is king.
Gozum played behind the likes of Paras and Bright Akhuetie. The GDLs and Paras' plans were affected by the pandemic. Spencer is already the winningest Fighting Maroon and may have very well felt he has done it all in the UAAP.
Even more, UP is adamant each and every one of its players get a good shot at proving themselves -- to be worthy of a roster spot, to be deserving of playing time.
"Lahat sila, they were given the chance. Halos lahat nga sa kanila, two years with us, and all of that time, they had the opportunity," explained Perasol. "Pero tayo, tatanungin natin siyempre kung ano ba ang rate of development, rate of improvement. Kailangan pa ring pag-aralan yung mga ganun."
In the same light, the Fighting Maroons guarantee their recruits know full well what they're getting into when they commit to a team that'll do anything and everything in its power to put itself in position away from the dark days it had just left behind.
"'Pag gusto mo lumaban sa best, you have to get the best of the best. And maglalaban-laban sila. Pinapapaliwanag sa kanila yan kaya bago sila pumasok sa programa, alam na nila yun," detailed the program director. "Pero bakit pumupunta pa rin sila sa UP? Ang gusto kasi nila is yung opportunity to be in a winning program.
"Gusto nilang magkaroon ng chance to compete with the best and ng chance manalo. Iniisiip nila na kaya ako nire-recruit ng UP kasi they think I'm one of the best, and kailangan ko to prove them right."
State U takes pride in offering the best chance for prospects to be the best student and best athlete. It is, and remains to be, a school considered to be the best in the country. And it has, and hopes to be, a championship culture that's still gaining steam.
Whether or not it has a problem of too much talent, UP believes it has a problem-solver in the form of head coach Goldwin Monteverde -- who is well-known to get the most out of all his players.
In his two seasons in maroon-and-green, no player averaged more than 27 minutes. A little-known transferee in Cyril Gonzales got as much burn as a veteran in Spencer. In Monteverde's philosophy, all can be a Fighting Maroon -- as long as they live up to the fighting part of it.
Truth be told, "over-recruitment" has been happening long before UP. The top teams want the top talents, and once they're there, it'll just have to be survival of the fittest.
"Yan naman talaga ang basketball, ang sports. Pag nagre-recruit ka, wala namang perfect recruitment. You're counting on all their potential," mused Perasol.
"But ultimately, you have to be aware of your objective. Kung ang objective ngayon is to have a chance to have a winning team, kailangan ng personnel who can make that happen."
The difference is now, it's UP -- which had a 13-113 record from 2007-15 -- getting all the top talents and being the talk of the town. They just hope all the noise won't drown out all the good music they've worked hard to compose.