UNIVERSITY of the East coach Jack Santiago he used a testy third quarter to serve as a rallying point for his team in claiming its third win of the season at the expense of University of Santo Tomas on Sunday in the UAAP basketball tournament.
"Sometimes, kailangang magpakita ng galit, emosyon para magising ang mga players. Siguro, ang pangyayari kina Harvey (Pagsanjan), nagising siya eh," explained the coach.
See Reborn UE Red Warriors post rare back-to-back wins, extend UST misery
"He had a big basket in the corner noong bumabalik na ang UST. But, he took the shot in the corner and big basket for us. So, maybe, maganda yung nangyari sa kanya, nagising siya."
At the 2:01 mark, guard Pagsanjan caught a well-placed elbow by opposing center Adama Faye during a scramble for the ball.
Faye was ejected after being called for a disqualifying foul and is likely suspended for the Tigers' next match against FEU on Wednesday.
"Ok lang naman ako kasi [noong] pag-rebound ko, tumama sa mukha niya tapos nagulat ako may sikong tumama sa akin," recalled Pagsanjan. "Bumagsak akong malakas kaya tinawagan ng ganoon."
Pagsanjan, who finished with five points, drilled his only field goal, a three-pointer that gave UE a seven-point advantage, 66-59, with 3:27 left in the game.
It was enough to give the Red Warriors the 78-68 victory, their first win against the Tigers for the first time since Oct. 7, 2017.
Now sporting a 3-2 record, even Santiago was left in disbelief after gaining more than one win, a prediction he made before the season.
"Di ako parang makapaniwala eh. Anyway, I want to congratulate all my boys, it was really a team effort," mentioned Santiago.
"I'm so happy that nagising na sila and it was really a team effort."
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