Coach Moriah Joel Gingerich. Banner photo by Mar Lopez, UPS-MCO.
Think of having to train tirelessly for a competitive sport while carefully balancing your academics. Then you come back to your dormitory, and the lights are out — not because of a power outage, but because of unpaid bills. That was the reality Moriah Joel Gingerich and the rest of the UP Men’s Basketball Team had to face. Those were the dark days. Literally.
His journey with the UPMBT began in 2009, well before his more recognized debut as assistant coach in 2014. Ylanan Gym was their training facility. Back then, the gym had a hole-riddled roof, and the floor had craters. One can only imagine how, on rainy days, players struggled to avoid areas of the court with puddles.
The lack of training facilities and constant public scrutiny created an especially challenging environment that made it difficult for the team to grow. Despite this, Coach Mo, as he is now called, had high hopes for the UPMBT from the start.
“I believed in what the management and the coaches were building at the time. So I thought, when I went to UP, by second or third year ko, magka-final four na kami. Tapos sana by the time I graduate, makapag-champion ako kahit isa sa UAAP [University Athletics Association of the Philippines],” he recounted.
That dream fell short year after year.
Coach Mo knew it was difficult to get into the playoffs. Everyone on the team did. Regardless, he still believed they could. In fact, the UPMBT would log that in their checklist of team goals every year. “Minsan there’s a part of you that always thinks na may chance ba talaga kami na mag final four. … Every year, definitely goal namin ‘yun.” Even during the hardest seasons, that goal remained on the checklist. Unfortunately, it remained elusive during his playing years.
Heartbreaking: Two seasons of 0-14
Going 0-14 for the season, not once, but twice in a playing career, is tough for any athlete. And that was the case for Coach Mo in 2010 and 2013. Two possibilities can come out of such terrible setbacks: the team’s morale collapses, or, in the case of the UPMBT, the athletes use it as fuel to train extra hard.
“I remember after the season, parang gusto namin mag-practice agad para next year. Para hindi namin madaanan ‘yung ganoong experience na mag-0-14 ulit. Even ‘yung after no’ng 2010 na 0-14, parang November, kahit wala pang na-appoint na bagong head coach,” he said.
Then Maroon Captain Miggy Maniego led these training sessions in the absence of a coach. The rigors of preparing for a new season meant long runs around the Academic Oval, weight training sessions, and endless shooting drills.
However, as the losses piled up, the team faced equally heavy criticism from the UP community. Coach Mo remembered attending his classes and hearing jokes where UPMBT was the punchline.
“Ah, hindi naman kayo nananalo,” they would say. Or if they did win, the comments still cut just as deep with, “well, it’s about time.”
Despite all this, the team did not let outside noise bring them down. In fact, those experiences made them tougher. “Kahit na 0-14, the next year, andoon pa rin naman kami; we still train hard, we keep going, even against the odds. And I think those experiences helped us have more success in life. Not necessarily in basketball, but in other areas.”
Sparks of hope: UPMBT’s rise
In 2016, Dolreich “Bo” Perasol became head coach of the UPMBT. During his tenure, he instilled an unwavering belief in the players and the coaching staff. It was, as Coach Mo described it, simply a “winning mindset.”
For the first time, the team had this “winner’s mentality,” even in games where they were trailing and during seasons with more losses than wins. The belief that they could be winners completely changed the atmosphere of the entire team.
“Even if we didn’t stack up well against the other teams, if we train hard, if we play together, if the break goes our way, then may chance kami mag-final four. And every year, at the end of the year, sitting there with two wins, one win, three wins, mahirap, pero the years 2016 and 2017, nakita mo na especially 2017, talagang may chance.”
UPMBT made it to the Final Four in 2018. With the final buzzer in their round two match against De La Salle University, Coach Mo recalled, “talagang umiyak kami — the players, and umiyak talaga ako, si Coach Poch [Juinio], doon ko lang siya nakitang umiyak. Sabi niya nga, doon lang daw siya umiyak, kahit sa mga championship niya sa PBA [Philippine Basketball Association], hindi. Pero sa pag-final four ng UP, it meant so much more dahil sa mga pinagdaanan natin to get to that point.”
At that point, the UPMBT proved that with sheer determination, persistence, and a refusal to give up, the underdog can beat the odds and succeed. The achievement was a testament to the years that the players, coaches, and management stayed patient and believed the team could be so much more.
During the semifinals against Adamson University, Coach Mo vividly described seeing Araneta Coliseum as a sea of maroon. It was the first time, he said, that he had seen that level of support for UP from the crowd.
Already an assistant coach, he remembered feeling the players’ excitement, which he described as one of his most memorable moments with the team. “And I’ve seen that before, but not in UP games. Ateneo-La Salle, Ateneo against Adamson, Ateneo against FEU [Far Eastern University], other teams napupuno nila. And kami, siyempre, as players, we would want to play in that type of environment na maraming nanonood sa inyo, maraming nag-cheer sa inyo,” he said.
Photos of UP during the UPMBT's 2018 semifinals sweep:
UP Diliman Sunken Garden live film viewing of the crucial UP-Adamson semifinal game two. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UPS-MCO.
UP Diliman Palma Hall lobby live viewing of the UP-Adamson second semifinal game. Photo by Jun Madrid, UPS-MCO.
The UP Theater live viewing of semifinal game two, where UPMBT swept the semis, wiping off Adamson’s twice-to-beat advantage to head into the finals. Photo by Misael Bacani, UPS-MCO.
“So that’s why it meant so much more, that time na akala mo hindi na makabangon ang UP,” was his response to how 2018 played out — how the fans showed up during the UP-Adamson semifinals series game, flooding Araneta in maroon. That’s also why the team—players, coaches, and staff —were so emotional during the game that sent them to the Finals.
It was not a championship game yet, but it felt like one. Especially for a UPMBT that had not seen the finals since 1986. Their underdog “atin ‘to” story caught the attention of the media and basketball fans. They did not win the championship against Ateneo de Manila University, but their story captured the hearts of many, reverberating across the country.
Legacy building: Commitment, community, and continued growth
A lot has truly changed since 2009. The new training facilities added to the university such as the Epsilon Chi Gym in 2018 and the addition of the Varsity Training Center in 2023, have been vital to the team’s development and continued success. Out-of-country training programs have hugely contributed to UPMBT’s overall development.
In these times of plenty, Coach Mo is happy that the players of this generation can enjoy these new opportunities and facilities. To him, these are well-deserved benefits of putting in years of hard work and all the sacrifices players of his generation had to make for the love of basketball.
While it is always easier to root for success stories in the present than to reflect on the past and safeguard the future, Coach Mo trusts that the community’s support for UPMBT remains true. “I just hope na ‘yong solid na support sa UP, na whether [we] win or lose, talaga nandoon pa rin sila.”
“We’re hoping makapag-finals ulit… for 6-8 years [pa]. But eventually, for sure there will come a time na hindi makapag-finals ang UP. And I trust, and I hope na ‘yong mga supporters ng UP will be there pa rin for those times. Huwag naman sana bumalik sa time noong naglalaro kami. Hopefully, that won’t happen,” he added.
Season 89 just started. UPMBT has entered the finals consecutively from Season 84 to 88 and won two championships. From training facilities in need of repair and dimly lit rooms to bright lights and confetti-filled arenas, UPMBT’s journey has been long and ultimately transformative. The combined effort of management, coaches, and players built this current success through years of patience and perseverance.
In the end, it was the unwavering belief that the narrative could change one day that first gave the team hope. And with hard work and determination, that hope finally became reality.