James Spencer to skip final playing year with the UP Fighting Maroons

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

One of the most reliable veterans for the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons will no longer play out his final eligible year in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament to seek more opportunities overseas.

James Spencer, a key contributor to UP’s historic UAAP title during the past year, confirmed that he will no longer be with the Fighting Maroons this upcoming season announced last April 21, 2023.

The savvy combo guard shared that he is set to embark on a semi-professional hoops journey in Australia and will join the Dandeong Rangers in the NBL1 South basketball league.

With Spencer no longer reinforcing head coach Goldwyn Monteverde and his former teammates, the Fighting Maroons will be losing a ton of their three-point shooting and perimeter defense.

Spencer, a well-known three-and-D guy for the system of the Fighting Maroons, is also one of their go-to guys when they needed a bucket in the clutch.

During their Season 84 championship title campaign that halted their UAAP title drought for decades, Spencer’s bigtime three-pointers were the key to UP’s successful come-from-behind wins in both Games 1 and 3 in the grand finals against Ateneo.

As of now, Spencer is yet to confirm whether he will return someday with the Fighting Maroons program and apply for a two-year Masteral course to become eligible again in the collegiate ranks.

Spencer is currently finishing his rehabilitation stage after suffering a torn plantar fascia injury before playing full blast for the Rangers in the Australian semi-pro hoops league.

Despite Spencer’s departure from the UP program, Monteverde still got plenty of talent in the shooting guard position namely: Harold Alarcon, Terrence Fortea, and Reyland Torres.