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Mammie keeps UE's Final Four hopes alive with win over NU

Charles Mammie battles with Alfred Arogo for a rebound. (Dante Diosina Jr/NPPA IMAGES)

The University of the East Red Warriors kept their UAAP Final Four hopes alive with a 64-55 victory over the National University Bulldogs, Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The Red Warriors banked on the game-long brilliance of import Charles Mammie to defeat the highly-touted Bulldogs who were coming off a win against the Ateneo Blue Eagles in their last game.

Mammie scored a season high 22 points on 10 of 21 shooting from the field while also adding 10 rebounds.

This is the first time the Warriors defeated a team in the top four and they did it with a huge handicap.

UE’s high-scoring point guard Roi Sumang did not play a single second in the crucial game as a disciplinary measure given by the school. Sumang missed their last practice and offered no excuse so the team had no choice but to bench him even at this critical juncture of the UAAP season.

After leading for much of the second and third quarters, UE almost relinquished the lead amidst a 9-0 NU run early in the fourth but Mammie and the rest of the Red Warriors held on to the lead with timely baskets.

UE is now in solo fifth place with a 6-5 win-loss tally. They are right behind the Bulldogs who are at 7-4.

UE and NU battled through a low-scoring first quarter. After the first 10 minutes of action, the Bulldogs led 11-8 with Mammie scoring all of UE’s eight points.

The offense got even worse for NU as they only scored four points in the second quarter.

The Red Warriors went on a 6-0 run to grab a 16-15 lead halfway into the second and Chris Javier extended their lead 18-15 with a long jumper with less than two minutes left in the first half.

UE closed out the quarter with a free throw for a 19-15 count.

The Red Warriors built a double-digit lead, 33-23, with less then four minutes remaining in the third quarter. They held on for a 37-29 advantage heading into the final quarter.

UE extended its lead to 10 points to start the fourth quarter but triples from Paolo Javelona and Gelo Alolino trimmed it down to four at 39-35. After the Red Warriors came up empty on offense again, Alolino swooped in for a fast break layup to be within two points of UE with still 7:52 left in the final quarter

Alfred Aroga added a free throw to make it a 9-0 run for NU but Mammie responded with a jump hook to bring it back up to three, 41-38.

Gino Jumao-as later on extended their lead to six, 48-42, after a triple halfway through the fourth quarter. He added to this lead with a fast break layup after receiving a full court pass from Mammie.

After missing two baseline jumpers in the fourth quarter, UE big man RR De Leon nailed a huge triple at the 3:01 mark to extend their lead to nine, 53-44.

The Main Man: Mammie may have finished the game on the bench  because of five fouls but his effort throughout the game carried UE to the crucial victory.

Honorable Mentions: Paul Varilla, Javier, and Jumao-as scored eight points each to back Mammie up. Dan Alberto did not score a lot but his performance as UE’s main point guard was also admirable.

Game Turning Point: RR De Leon sank his first triple of the ongoing UAAP season in the most opportune time. With 3:01 left in the game,  the big man found himself open for a triple. He swished it to extend their lead to nine points.

He Said It:

UE head coach Derrick Pumaren: We want to stay alive. This game is very important for us. The boys played well. We played good defense. We showed that UE is not a one-man team. We instill discipline in UE.I think what Roi did was disrespectful to the school. It's unfair to the other guys on the team.

The scores:

UE 64: Mammie 22, Varilla 8, Javier 8, Jumao-as 8, Galanza 5, Alberto 4, De Leon 3, Guiang 2, Olayon 2, Charcos 2, Arafat 0, Palma 0.

NU 55: Alolino 13, Rosario 12, Javelona 9, Khobuntin 6, Neypes 5, Betayene 5, Aroga 3, Diputado 2, Alejandro 0, Celda 0, Perez 0.

Quarters: 8-11, 19-15, 37-29, 64-55.