BREAKDOWN: Andy Gemao Looks Right at Home in UP
The headline was supposed to be, “UP Fighting Maroons play first-ever Asiabasket game inside home venue.” But then, something happened. Or, rather, someone.
Unkempt hair, lanky build, eyes that never quite convey all the happenings inside a gifted basketball mind. The pictures uploaded by major media outlets couldn’t lie: Andy Gemao was in a maroon jersey inside the UP Varsity Training Center.
We’ve certainly seen this before. Back in 2024, the former NCAA juniors Finals MVP suited up for the Fighting Maroons during their stint in the Pinoyliga Cup. Forget the double-pumps and daredevil drives to the basket: The most entertaining part of that afternoon was Gemao getting coerced into greeting “Kuya Maimai” and “Kuya Janjan” during his post-game interview, when the two veterans were standing just two feet away from him.
The antics of Mr. Cagulangan and Mr. Felicilda are solid proof that the Fighting Maroons family is extremely comfortable with Gemao. Too comfortable, even.
And why wouldn’t they? Aside from the fact that tatay Goldwyn Monteverde, Gemao’s former coach at NU-NS, has been calling the shots in Diliman since 2022, UP clearly sees the 19-year-old as a worthy successor to their post-pandemic lineage of backcourt studs: Cagulangan and Felicilda, of course, but also Ricci Rivero, CJ Cansino, Harold Alarcon, Gerry Abadiano, and Terrence Fortea.
Gemao, in other words, could be the bunso of this bunch. And we all know how the youngest sibling can be: They draw a lot of attention, sure, but you need to be patient with them.
The Performance
When young Andy checked into his first-ever Asiabasket game, waiting wasn’t exactly on his mind.
With UP down 26-15 to the CSB Blazers at the start of the second quarter, Gemao was tasked to facilitate his team’s offense. The first play he made, however, was for himself. Coming off a Sean Alter screen, he pulled up at the free throw line and let it fly. The ball hit the back of the rim but got a friendly bounce. Two points right away.
Fun fact: If you head to YouTube and type “Andy Gemao Letran highlights,” the first video you’ll see consists of highlights that are mostly open-court plays by the former Squire. Back when his head was adorned with a headband and nothing else, Gemao was making a living off intercepted passes, crafty finishes that involved switching hands in mid-air, and showstopping dunks that were rare for Pinoy high school guards.
So, if Gemao is now stepping out to the perimeter and launching shots with confidence, he becomes a bigger threat on offense. Should Gemao decide to join the Maroons in Season 89, he will certainly need a jumper that he can count on when opposing defenders slow the game down to a halfcourt affair.
If it was jarring for Letran die-hards to see Gemao taking midrange Js off pick-and-pop sets, it must have been downright insane to watch him drain an outside shot from five steps behind the three-point line. Rey Remogat, the teammate that assisted him at the 3:51 mark of the second quarter, must have been proud.
Would Gemao’s growth be stunted if he decides to join a UP backcourt that’s basically the “RemoGOAT” show? I don’t think so. Remogat, who appears locked and loaded to go on a UAAP MVP campaign this season, will take up the lion’s share of responsibilities as far as scoring and playmaking are concerned. With a supernova of a court general by his side, Gemao can just take his sweet time with his reps and learn to play college ball with relatively less pressure.
(I’ll have something to say, though, if my guy Arvie Poyos doesn’t make the lineup. If Poyos gets cut, this writer will riot.)
High school brilliance doesn’t always translate to greatness in college life. Sure stings, huh?
There’s no telling whether Gemao will seamlessly carry over his dominance as a high school star to the seniors division (like, say, a Kiefer Ravena or a Terrence Romeo). But this much is certain: Gemao is by no means a finished product, and there are a number of things that he needs to work on.
Handles? Could be tighter. Playmaking? He can generate even more quality looks if he gets paint touches more often.
With his long strides, strong hops, and big bag of tricks, Gemao is a natural when it comes to attacking the rim. But, whether he likes it or not, this 6-foot athlete will have to play point guard in the UAAP. Which means that Gemao will have to hone a skill that’s a staple of UP court generals: the outlet pass, which unleashes their trademark fast-paced attack.
That pass thrown at the 4:30 mark of the fourth quarter against CSB? That ain’t it, chief.
On the defensive end, Gemao is competent enough to stay in front of his man during on-ball situations. Against the Blazers, though, there were a couple of glaring defensive miscues in the fourth quarter: missing a backdoor cut from his man along the baseline, leaving a shooter alone in the corner when he needlessly floated to the shaded lane.
Neither of these errors was devastating, but in a game where the Maroons trailed their opponents right from the get-go, Gemao needed to avoid such slip-ups. In any case, he knows exactly the price to pay for those mental lapses: an enraged reaction from his former assistant coach Tom Chua, UP’s resident defensive whiz.
To be exact, the Fighting Maroons first found themselves in a deficit when Blazers forward Irele Galas converted on an and-1 opportunity at the 9:13 mark of the first quarter. With 4.0 seconds left in the final frame, they were still trailing as UP students, employees, and alumni looked on with trepidation in their own practice facility.
That’s when Gemao got Ian Torres on a switch, drove baseline, and pump-faked to draw contact from Torres. With the Maroons down 80-79, Gemao showed both guts and smarts as he sought to get the lead when it mattered the most.
Matapang. Matalino.
With Unibersidad ng Pilipinas emblazoned on the front of his jersey, and the watching eyes of a fanbase desperately wanting their turf to be defended, Gemao made a pressure-packed free throw. Then, he made another.
After 2.6 seconds of game time (which, for basketball reasons, might as well have been two and a half hours in real time), the Maroons secured their second victory in the NSAC College Basketball Campus Tour. Player of the Game honors went to a guy who finished with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field, five rebounds, and five assists. Off the bench, I might add.
Walang takot…si bunso.
Family isn’t just the people you’re born with. Family can also be the people you select. Andy Gemao has some options to weigh, Division I offers and all that good stuff, but the Maroon campus is ready to welcome him if he so chooses. In that place, he looks right at home.
