FILE – UP coach Bo Perasol. INQUIRER PHOTO/Sherwin Vardeleon
MANILA, Philippines—Bo Perasol will now have a bigger role to fulfill.
After serving as the University of the Philippines’ men’s basketball team program director, Perasol has been named director of UP Office for Athletics and Sports Development (OASD).
“Actually, I have mixed emotions because of the enormity of the job. There are over 700 student-athletes in Diliman alone and my intention is to get to know each of them so I can learn how to move forward, not just for them but also for future student-athletes,” said Perasol in Filipino on Wednesday.
“What we want to happen is for the office to be ready to cater to the needs of UP student-athletes… My task now is not just to oversee the basketball program, but all of UP programs.”
Perasol had also previously assumed the role of head coach, guiding the Fighting Maroons to a UAAP Finals run in 2018 where they got swept by the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Perasol was then appointed program director of basketball and played a major factor in ending UP’s 36-year title drought in the UAAP in 2022.
It was also Perasol who helped the Fighting Maroons land talents like Carl Tamayo, Zavier Lucero, Malick Diouf and JD Cagulangan.
“I’m hoping the same structure can be realized as OASD: cooperation of the alumni, participation of the community, support of the school administration and determination of coaches and players. That’s what I see as critical factors for successful endeavors.”
Perasol aims to continue what he started but on a much bigger scale.
“Whatever is missing, we’ll try to make up for it because unlike other schools, everything is free in UP so we have nowhere to go to for funds per se,” he said.
“Of course, we will always welcome the generosity of our alumni but at the same time, we have to make sure that we have other resources. We want this new office to be self-sustaining, in a way.”