JUST as University of the East seemed to have found long-term answers after a late Final Four push that fell ever-so short last year, questions began to pile up anew in an offseason player exodus.
At least six Red Warriors left the red-and-white stable after UAAP Season 86, led by no less than prized star Rey Remogat who jumped ship to the University of the Philippines.
Bar veteran cager Abdul Sawat, other key player departures included the likes of Josh Alcantara, MJ Langit, Allen Maglupay, John Matthew Manalang, and JM Tulabut.
But as it often goes in sports when changes are aplenty, one just has to move on and move forward.
Seeing red, in a good light
Basketball figures, from players to coaches and all in between, are likely to be subjected to scrutiny for their moves on the court and decisions off of it.
With the effects of a shaky offseason vividly reflected in their two opening losses to UST and UP in Season 87, UE head coach Jack Santiago took pride in ‘weathering the storm’ against FEU before making noise where it matters against defending champion La Salle.
“Talagang ganun naman sa basketball eh. Kapag hindi maganda tinatakbo ng team, there’s a lot of bad publicity from outsiders. It’s normal,” Santiago told SPIN.ph.
“As much as possible, ini-ignore namin ‘yan.”
READ: Coach Jack Santiago always believed UE can - so UE did
And when everyone else had a lot to say about their team, the Red Warriors took it upon themselves to make a statement — not through words but through actions.
“We just need to move on. We don’t listen sa mga ganun kasi maaapektuhan lang ‘yung team, maaapektuhan kami, maaapektuhan ako,” said Santiago.
“We learn from the bad games, then we focus on the next games na lang.”
Without a doubt, UE learned its lessons, and heeded the call of its mentor that it will take all of them to move on and move forward from the loss of its onetime top gun who now dons the maroon-and-green.
And if their triumph over the Green Archers - where three players were in double-digit scoring and a total of seven contributed at least five points - is in any indication, the more balanced Red Warriors have a winning formula in their hands to keep making noise.
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