Our do-or-die spirit

Which team will you be rooting for?

- THE VIEW FROM RIZAL DR. JUN YNARES

This was the question friends have been asking me over the weekend and at the start of the week. The question concerns deciding the championship Game Three of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), scheduled for today. This will be played between the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers and the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, a match that is definitely a fitting conclusion to this year's varsity basketball season.

The question is relevant because I have ties with both schools. I finished premed and medical studies at DLSU Dasmariñas, Cavite, where I met my future wife, and later took graduate studies in public administration at UP's NCPAG. So, I'll be cheering for both teams, though I'll keep it a secret which one I hope wins the championship.

The fact is, both teams deserve to be champions.

It will be recalled that both DLSU and UP had “bad” starts this season. UP suffered two successive losses at the hands of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers and the Adamson University Falcons, fueling doubts regarding its ability to win back-to-back championships. DLSU managed a slim two-point win over Adamson before bowing down to the UST team by nine.