THE last time University of the East won three straight games, it almost made it to the Final Four.
This time, the current Red Warriors are determined to make it count.
UE repulsed a struggling National University side to earn the 57-51 victory on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena, fanning their hopes of being considered as a legitimate contender this UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament with what is now a three-game winning streak.
Wello Lingolingo ensured the triumph, first hitting a big trey with 41.4 on the clock before once again extending it to a two-possession game, 55-51, at the foul line in the last 14 seconds.
Ethan Galang then followed it up with a block on a Donn Lim three before icing the game with two free throws.
It's a winning run that has not been seen in Recto since Season 77 back in 2014, when Roi Sumang and Charles Mammie were still repping the red-and-white. Curiously, they forced a playoff for the fourth spot that season, but eventually lost to the eventual champion Bulldogs.
At least for today, it was the Red Warriors who got the upper hand.
John Abate once again carried the scoring load for UE with 15 points on an efficient 7-of-12 shooting as well as six rebounds, while Precious Momowei grabbed 20 rebounds on top of his five points and three assists.
Lingolingo wound up with eight points on 2-of-6 clip from distance, Galang got seven points, six boards, and three assists, and Rain Maga scored all of his six points in the fourth quarter.
“I’m so happy the boys responded very well. All the players especially those coming off the bench stepped up,” said coach Jack Santiago as the Red Warriors hiked their record to 3-2. “Nagkakaroon na yung boys ng winning character.”
Same old story for no-luck NU
It was another atrocious shooting night for the Bulldogs who shot a horrid 25-percent from the field.
No one breached double-figures in scoring for National U. Steve Nash Enriquez paced his side with nine points, as Jolo Manansala got eight points and nine rebounds in their fourth straight loss to drop to 1-5.
The Scores:
UE 57 – Abate 15, Lingolingo 8, Galang 7, Wilson 6, Maga 6, Momowei 5, Fikes 5, J. Cruz-Dumont 3, Malaga 2, Mulingtapang 0, Spandonis 0, Go 0, Robles 0.
NU 51 – Enriquez 9, Manansala 8, Padrones 8, Jumamoy 8, Lim 6, Figueroa 4, Francisco 3, Santiago 3, Palacielo 2, Yu 0, Garcia 0, Dela Cruz 0, Tulabut 0, Parks 0, Perciano 0.
Quarters: 10-15, 30-35, 44-43, 57-51.
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