UAAP: Veejay Pre repays UP’s trust with career performance vs. UST

MANILA — Veejay Pre was determined to lift the University of the Philippines to victory against University of Santo Tomas, even if it took two overtime periods.  

Pre erupted for 16 points in the first half, then went on to score all seven points for the Fighting Maroons in the second overtime period.  

He finished with a new career-high of 30 points in their 103-101 double OT win over UST on Wednesday — the first UP player to reach the scoring mark since Juan Gomez de Liaño in 2018. 

Pre deflected his huge scoring night to executing his coaches’ instructions, vowing to keep on growing in order to replay their trust in him. 

“Sinusunod ko lang din yung mga game plan ng mga coaches. Nagtitiwala naman ako sa sarili ko kasi tinatrabaho ko naman. Pero ayun, marami pa akong lapses na kailangan pang improve,” he said during the post-game press conference. 

Pre also credited his teammates for their faith in his ability to score and lead the team. 

“Siyempre, masaya kami kasi yung collective effort namin nagbunga. And kudos sa mga coaches, isa, tiwala nila sa akin na iaano ko lang ba, sinusuklihan ko lang,” Pre said during the post-game press conference. 

“Masaya ako na kami, yung mga teammates ko na lumaban kami at yung pagiging composed namin nakita sa game na ito,” he added. 

For UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde, they did not doubt Pre’s ability to rise to the occasion and step up during crucial moments. 

That’s why he still had the green light to keep shooting even if he missed the potential game-winning triple in the first overtime period.  

“For us naman, we never doubted Veejay to step up sa mga itong klase situations sa game. And sa akin, I think we started out well naman ng itong game. But then, ano eh, what I’m most proud of is yung ano eh, pagka itong laban nag-double overtime, puso na na pinag-uusapan,” he said. 

“Pagka yung team namin, seeing them fighting through the end, you know, going through sa ganitong clashing game would be a learning experience for the team,” Monteverde pointed out. 

The UP Fighting Maroons aim to carry the momentum to their next assignment, when they take on the UE Red Warriors on Sunday at the Blue Eagle Gym.