With a 5-2 record, the UE Red Warriors find themselves on the heels of a Final Four comeback as UAAP Season 87 hits its halfway point.
With an emphatic win over the Adamson Soaring Falcons, the UE Red Warriors end the first round of UAAP Season 87 with a five-game winning streak — their first unblemished run since UAAP Season 77 in 2014.
After dropping their first two games against UST and UP, the Red Warriors went on a sudden tear, which was headlined by a major upset over defending champs La Salle. From there, UE produced a string of comeback wins against rookie-laden Ateneo and all-Filipino NU.
A Wello Lingolingo game-winner capped off their first round campaign, securing an offensive rebound off a Nico Mulingtapang miss to hit a wild shot that won the game for UE.
“‘Yung winning streak namin, it’s giving me pressure talaga. So, I’m very thankful na answered prayers talaga yung binibigyan nila sa amin. Well, I’m so happy with the guys, at least ngayon nakikita ko talaga yung character namin starting to build, and talagang ayaw magpatalo ng mga bata,” said head coach Jack Santiago.
The Warriors entered Season 87 reeling from the loss of Rey Remogat, who transferred to UP in the offseason. In losing a possible go-to scorer, came a balanced offense that led to the Recto side’s early success.
UE has received meaningful contributions from the likes of Lingolingo, sharpshooter Ethan Galang, Rainer Maga, Devin Fikes, and Fil-Am John Abate. Precious Momowei has remained dominant on the boards and has regained his offensive rhythm in UE’s last two games.
“And maybe ‘yung pinakamangandang nangyari sa amin was when we play against the number one team [La Salle] and luckily we beat them. So naramdaman na nila na kaya pala namin, and mula non, trabaho lang kami and we challenge and we [face] ‘yung mga challenges na datating samin,” said Santiago.
‘For the community’
At the same time, the UE Red Warriors have given their community something to cheer for again. As the first round continued, it’s been easy to see a gradual increase in the team’s supporters.
And it’s something that Coach Jack has noticed, even reminding his players not to take this support for granted. After all, UE has been through years of mediocre showings, and its crowd has long waited for a ray of hope.
“Well, actually after nung round-robin namin, nung bago mag-start ‘yung first quarter, I gathered the team and isa lang ‘yung sinabi ko sakanila: Na look at the crowd, the UE community supporting us even ngayong Sunday. Dapat na sa family ‘yung mga ‘yan,” he said.
“So I’m happy lang with the boys kasi they responded very well, and we really dedicated this game to the school community, na alam namin they spend money just to buy tickets. So talagang very thankful kami and this is for you guys.”
It’s also a reflection of faith within the UE camp, starting with Lingolingo. The guard could have easily left in the offseason after Season 86 for greener pastures, yet he stayed.
And now, it’s bearing fruit for both Lingolingo and UE. The sharpshooting guard has chipped in 10.2 points to help UE secure a 5-2 record, which is good for second-best in scoring behind Momowei.
Lingolingo has also led the Warriors’ three-point shooting with an impressive 43 percent clip (16 out of 37) from downtown that’s established him as one of Season 87’s top shooters.
“Masaya syempre [that staying with UE became productive], lalo na kay coach. Binibigyan nya ako ng tiwala, binibigyan niya ako nang kumpiyansa sa sarili ko kung ano ‘yung kaya kong gawin so thankful lang [that I stayed],” he said.
Onto the second round
UE will now enter the second round having gained opposing teams’ respect. Given this, Coach Jack is making it a point to warn against complacency, as it’ll be back to square one once the final half of eliminations kick-off.
“Everybody will…sabi mo nga, paghahandaan kami like what they did to Lingolingo [against Adamson] Talagang namarkahan siya nung first few quarters…so kailangan namin mag-adjust,” said Santiago.
Indeed, it will be a crucial stretch for UE, who is looking to snap a 17-year Final Four drought. Easier said than done, but all that’s left is to finish the job in their final seven outings.
Banner image courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.