MANILA, Philippines – Javi Gomez de Liano has always dreamed of playing in the UAAP Final 4. And in his dreams, he was doing so in a University of the Philippines (UP) jersey.

Those dreams never became reality while Gomez de Liano was playing for UP Integrated School in the UAAP juniors division. He shone as an individual player, along with younger brother Juan, but they never managed to lead the Junior Maroons to a much-coveted semifinal spot.

Yet Javi never stopped fighting for his Final 4 dream, and it finally came true on Wednesday as the UP Fighting Maroons demolished De La Salle University, 97-81, to claim the third seed in the UAAP Season 81 semifinals.

"This has been my dream ever since high school, ever since I played for UPIS," a clearly ecstatic Javi said after the game. "I wanted to promise the UP community that we'll make it to the Final 4."

"Unfortunately, we didn't make it in high school, but now, we made it," he added.

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What makes this achievement so much sweeter for Javi is that he could have opted to play for other schools with more established basketball programs, with teams that are perennial Final 4 contenders.

But he never wanted to leave UP without realizing his dream.

"I never gave up on that dream that we're gonna make the Final 4 or finals. Heading into college, I never really planned to go to other schools," said Javi.

"I said I wanna fulfill my promise to the UP community na we will be on top again."

Javi wasn't just along for the ride on Wednesday, as he was the spark that helped UP pull away from La Salle. His back-to-back triples in the first period triggered the run that put the Fighting Maroons in control, and in the fourth quarter, he nailed two more three pointers to slam the door on the Green Archers'

The third-year forward finished with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while adding two rebounds, an assist, and a block in over 25 minutes of action.

"Thank you Lord na pumapasok ang mga shots ko, and it was really just our defense," he said. "It was just our day."

"It's about time na rin na kami naman ang mag-Final 4," he added.

This Final 4 appearance was 21 years in the making for UP, and for Javi, it was something that their team richly deserved.

"We deserve that win," he emphatically said after the game. "Ang tagal na naming pinaghirapan, it's about time."

"I'm really happy," he said. "I'm happy for myself, I'm happy for the whole community for never giving up on us. Everyone is happy right now."

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