Warriors rally past Tigers, barge into Filoil finals

University of the East returned to the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup finals in thrilling fashion Friday afternoon.

The Red Warriors mightily charged back from 16 points down behind a staggering second-half onslaught, outlasting University of Santo Tomas 77-75 in their back-and-forth semifinals match-up at The Arena in San Juan.

Sierra Leone native Charles Mammie pumped in 13 of his 16 points in the second half on top of 10 rebounds as the Warriors also got significant contributions from wily guard Roi Sumang, JM Noble, and Gino Jumao-as to help UE complete its rise from a big 34-50 deficit in the third canto.

A decisive 30-9 exchange bridging the last two periods anchored on a stifling 2-3 zone defense clearly worked wonders for the Red Warriors in turning the game around.

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UE, which last hoisted the crown in 2008, will be making its first finals appearance since 2009 and will take on the winner between defending champion National University and San Beda College in the other semis pairing.

Forward Kevin Ferrer led UST with 19 points while Cameroonian import Karim Abdul collected 14 markers and 13 rebounds, but the two vital cogs–along with gunner Jeric Teng–fouled out in the crunch that hastened the Growling Tigers’ downfall.
 
The Main Man: Out of control in the early goings, Mammie managed to take full control in the second half.

After picking up two quick fouls in the opening canto, the 6-foot-7 center settled down and was clearly the force behind the Red Warriors’ big surge in the second half.

Pumped up for his match-up with the 6-foot-6 Abdul, Mammie imposed his will in the paint, highlighted by his strong move off a Sumang feed that virtually sealed the deal for UE 77-73, time down to just 21.7 seconds.
 
Honorable Mention: Even when he’s not scoring, Sumang surely knows how to make an impact.

Despite playing under the weather, the 5-foot-8 playmaker came through with five rebounds and as many assists, the last dish enabling Mammie to power his way past Aljon Mariano in the lane.

Sumang went on to finish with 16 points but his ability to control the pace in UE’s favor, notably in the last 20 minutes, also made a big difference.
 
Game Turning Point: With Ferrer and Abdul leading the way, UST got off to a strong start and, for a moment, appeared headed for cruise after posting its biggest lead at 50-34 midway through the third canto.

UE, however, employed a shifting 2-3 zone and a 2-2-1 full-court press defense that made life miserable for the Growling Tigers while uncorking a big 30-9 run capped by a Jumao-as lay-up for a 64-59 lead.

Although Adbul and Teng were already tossed out of the game with five fouls each, UST still fought hard and even took a precarious 73-72 cushion off an Aljon Mariano layup with 1:27 to play.

A completed three-point play by Noble off Ferrer’s fifth and final foul put UE on top anew 75-73 before Mammie, getting a nifty pass from Sumang, barreled his way in the lane for a four-point cushion, time down to just 21.7 ticks.

Off a timeout, Paolo Pe converted a baseline jumper to trim UST’s deficit to just two then Kim Lo forced a jumpball against Jumao-as, giving the ball back to the Tigers with 9.1 seconds.

But UST failed to pounce on the golden opportunity, with Mariano dribbling too long before issuing a kickout pass to Ed Daquioag just as time expired.