UNIVERSITY of the East coach Jack Santiago pulled no punches on what he felt was the missing link in the team’s campaign so far in UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
“We’re fighting hard. We just need to wake up lang yung mga players naming inaasahan namin mag-deliver,” he said after his side suffered an 81-71 loss to University of the East on Saturday to stumble to their second straight defeat.
Though Santiago did not name names, it was obvious that the backcourt continues to be the bane for the Red Warriors.
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Gjerard Wilson has yet to really flex his might in his comeback season, averaging only 7.5 points through two games.
Ethan Galang, after catching fire with 11 points in UE’s 70-55 loss to UST, was held to just two points the next game.
And Jack Cruz-Dumont has yet to hit a field goal this season, missing all of his eight attempts as he transitions to being one of the lead guards for the Recto crew.
The backcourt’s inability to support Precious Momowei, who has been the lone bright spot for the Red Warriors, have prevented the team from playing up to par with Santiago’s lofty preseason expectations.
“Actually yun ang sinasabi ko sa players. This season, kumpleto kami at wala kaming injuries. Bakit natin hindi kayang ma-achieve yung target natin na Final Four?,” he said.
“Right now, there’s no reason kasi we’re complete, so to me it’s all a matter of how we finish and go over the hump.”
It’s not all gloom and doom, however, with Wello Lingolingo finally displaying the touch many expected of him, nabbing 11 points from three three-pointers in that UP loss, as well as the solid games of guards Nico Mulingtapang and Rain Maga.
John Abate and Devin Fikes have also brandished the grit and provided energy which aided the Red Warriors in making the comeback after being down by 27 against the Fighting Maroons.
“At least, you can see the changes, the improvement, but of course, we can still improve it,” said Santiago.
It’s still early in the season, but the veteran tactician is now sounding the alarms for UE as it looks at Wednesday’s duel against Far Eastern University as a “must win.”
“We cannot afford to lose on Wednesday. We cannot afford to take FEU lightly. We need to play hard,” he said.
“Hopefully those guys na kailangan namin will step up on Wednesday.”
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