Red Warriors lose but they sure look scary
In what may be the best game in the UAAP’s Season 77 so far, defending champion La Salle needed the endgame heroics of Jeron Teng to escape with a 60-58 win over the University of the East. But more than the Green Archers notching their second close victory in four games, this game was more about the Red Warriors dominating almost the entire time and showing the UAAP that they are a solid title contender this year.
Like real warriors in battle, UE looked really scary in this game, mainly due to its mettle and aggressiveness. Credit must go to the coaching staff, especially former La Salle head coach Derrick Pumaren (and with younger brother and former UE coach Dindo as his deputy), for turning things around for the team in a short period of time. He took over the coaching chores for UE just a few months before the season opening.
As expected, the Red Warriors unleashed the patented Pumaren full-court press, which was mostly responsible for the Green Archers’ horrendous 36 turnovers in the game. If they can force this many errors on La Salle, which in my opinion is the most poised team in the league, then they have to be feared by the rest of the field.
For 40 minutes the Warriors were relentless in their pressure defense. Occasionally, the Archers would manage to break the press. But UE showed in this game that the defending titlists were vulnerable to pressure. Perhaps Thomas Torres could have made some difference in the game if he had played. Still, the Warriors are slowly being able to master this dreaded defensive ploy made popular by Pumaren during his three-peat championship stint with La Salle in the early 90’s.
It’s not just the full-court press however that makes UE so scary. It’s also the presence of their big men, particularly African recruits Charles Mammie and Moustapha Arafat, and 6’5” veteran Chris Javier. You see, La Salle is a heavy favorite because of their imposing post players namely Arnold Van Opstal, Jason Perkins, Norbert Torres and Yutien Andrada. But UE is one team that can match up with DLSU well. In Sunday’s encounter, La Salle’s usually deadly duo of AVO and Perkins could only combine for seven points. So aside from their turnovers, the Green Archers’ strength inside was also neutralized by UE.
When the main big men – Mammie, Arafat, Perkins, Van Opstal – fouled out one after the other late in the payoff period, the advantage clearly swung to La Salle’s side. Although Almond Vosotros struggled with his shots, Teng was able to save the day for La Salle with his unstoppable drives. He also made a couple of excellent passes to rookie Prince Rivero, who was able to convert on both occasions. Norbert Torres also took advantage of the situation (fouling out of Mammie and Arafat), as he was able to secure some crucial rebounds and score on putbacks. All this accounted for that great La Salle comeback in the final few minutes of the game.
Of course, the Red Warriors must improve on their offense especially in crunch time. I actually like their plays. They had several good looks and open shots. But they just could not make their mark in the end. UE only had three successful field goals in the fourth quarter. Even the sensational Roi Sumang was atrocious in the end game. And the other respectable gunners in UE's roster went blank as well in the last ten minutes of play. But this team does have potent outside shooters like Dan Alberto and Pedrito Galanza. When UE's guns are on target, it will be tough to upend.
And when the going gets tough, the Green Archers shine more. The poise that they could not find in the first three quarters came through for them in the last period. It’s amazing that La Salle still managed to pull off the win even with 36 turnovers.
Watch out, however, for UE. They may have absorbed their first loss in the tournament but from what we saw in the game, the Red Warriors are legit threats to the Green Archers’ throne.
