UP hero Paul Desiderio joins PBA draft

After a Cinderella run to the finals in his final year with the Fighting Maroons, University of the Philippines team captain Paul Desiderio is setting his sights on the PBA.

Desiderio filed his application for the PBA draft on Friday, two days after UP bowed in the UAAP finals to the Ateneo De Manila Blue Eagles.

The Cebuano guard captured the fancy of the Philippine basketball world this year as the heart and soul of the Fighting Maroons, who shed their cellar-dwellar tag with their first trip to the UAAP finals in 32 years. During a timeout last season, Desiderio was recorded telling teammates "Atin 'to," which ended up being the mantra for the UP community's basketball reawakening.

Desiderio is expected to beef up a deep guard line in the draft class, which also includes elite prospects CJ Perez, Ray Parks, and Robert Bolick. —JST, GMA News