While collegiate team sports are still out of the picture, it seems that the University of the Philippines has found a (not-so) new rivalry: UP vs. Malacañang. The star player? Harry Roque, complete with victory fist pumps.

During today’s press briefing, the Presidential Spokesperson proclaimed that the Philippines has “beaten” the study of UP researchers, which predicted that the country will reach the 40,000 mark for COVID-19 cases by the end of June.

“Wala pong katotohanan ’yung 10,000 [backlogs], 1,000 plus na lang po ang ating backlog, which means we did not hit 40,000 or we will not hit 40,000 by end of June,” Roque clarified.

"We beat UP prediction po. We beat it so congratulations."

WATCH: Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque fist pumps in the air as he bid the Philippines "Congratulations" for beating UP prediction of 40,000 COVID-19 cases by June 30. pic.twitter.com/4M9LtfCWrc

— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) June 30, 2020

And like a lightbulb that suddenly appeared over his head, Roque realized that it’s June 30. “Today is the last day na pala. Ano bang sinasabi ko. Wala na po, panalo na tayo! We beat the UP prediction po. We beat it so congratulations, Philippines! Let’s do it again in July,” the spokesperson said, while throwing a fist pump in the air.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan’s Renato Reyes shared his thoughts on Facebook regarding the country’s “win,” criticizing Roque’s statement as “grossly misinformed and intellectually dishonest.”

“Contrary to what Roque claims, nowhere in any DOH report do we see a backlog of only 1,000. Unless the DOH has changed its definition of a backlog in validation, Roque’s claims are false. He offers no proof of this ‘1,000 backlog,’” he wrote. “The situation could be worse. We are just NOT seeing it because we are not testing enough. Gloating over a patently false claim of ‘beating UP’s prediction’ serves NO real purpose. It will not bring down the infections. It only serves the desire of [the] government to cover up its major blunders.”

According to today’s Department of Health bulletin, 1,080 confirmed cases have been added to the tally, garnering a total of 37,514 confirmed cases in the country.

Screenshot from PTV