WHEN no one else believed in University of the East, Jack Santiago did.
After losing key players, most especially top gun Rey Remogat in the offseason, that belief was already hard to buy in on.
And after a horrid 0-2 start to the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament, the coach did sound like a fool for having grand expectations in this campaign, even daring to say that the Red Warriors could be better from last year.
But it only took one week for UE to turn the page and make believers out of everybody.
Following the Red Warriors’ stunning 75-71 win over defending champion La Salle last Sunday, one couldn’t be faulted to call Santiago a genius.
READ: BOMBA! UE pulls off shocker against defending champion La Salle
“Alam ko na we are capable of beating the big teams. I know na lahat ng players ko is talented, kumpleto kami, at wala nang injuries. Kaya ganoon kalaki ang tiwala ko sa players ko ngayon,” he said, with the Recto side levelling its standing at 2-2.
Now, UE is seeking a third straight victory, and is largely favored to achieve it, against struggling National University (1-4) at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.
What makes the Red Warriors even more dangerous is how they’re doing it.
Though Precious Momowei remains as the torchbearer for the red-and-white with the Nigerian nabbing 11.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks, the rest of the team have also picked up the slack with Wello Lingolingo, Gjerard Wilson, John Abate, Rain Maga, and Ethan Galang all getting their moments in the sun.
It also helps that the three-ball has found its mark in the last two wins, with the Red Warriors draining 35-percent from rainbow country, including a mercurial 12-of-30 clip (40-percent) against the Green Archers.
“Yung dalawang setbacks namin, ang sama ng percentage namin sa three-points. Pero ngayon na we hit the outside shots, it opens up the floor and we can now dump the ball to Precious,” said Santiago.
As good as the past week was for UE, there’s still a lot of basketball left to be played, at least in the first round.
And Santiago is willing to stay the course as he banks on the notion that this Red Warriors side still has a lot to improve on.
“We have a deep bench, but I feel like as talented as we are, we still need to see yung mga bata na i-accept yung individual roles nila. Once we do that, kahit yung mga limited minutes, makikita niyo, talagang ibibigay yung 100-percent nila,” he said.
'Surprising Falcons' next up for undefeated Fighting Maroons
Adamson (3-2), on the other hand, looks to sustain its groove when it plays the undefeated University of the Philippines (4-0) at 4:30 p.m.
Coming off a confidence-boosting 60-58 victory over the Bulldogs, the Soaring Falcons are driven to slay another giant as they ride the wave of momentum from Joshua Yerro’s alley-oop winner.
But the Fighting Maroons will have none of that, of course, all the more as they aim to preserve their flawless record behind the leadership of JD Cagulangan, Quentin Millora-Brown, and Francis Lopez.
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