JUST how hungry was University of the East to get back to action?
The Red Warriors, coming off a rare two-week break, poured it on and then drowned out National University.
UE was just a house on fire on Saturday, shooting the lights out of the Mall of Asia Arena to blast the hapless Bulldogs, 74-58, and rejig its Final Four drive in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
Hungry to play after an unexpected lull, the Recto crew displayed fine form, as it drained 12 three-pointers to bounce back from its streak-busting 77-68 defeat to La Salle.
Wello Lingolingo led the red-and-white gunners, shooting 3-of-7 from deep for his 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists, while Ethan Galang also scored 12 points all from distance.
A much-welcome playoff push for UE
Precious Momowei did a good job complementing his team’s shooters, as he held the fort down low with 17 points, 17 boards, three assists, one steal, and one block as the Red Warriors moved up to 6-3 – taking a step closer to their dreams of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2009.
“The target of the team is the Final Four, but from where we are, 'di namin iniisip yun,” said coach Jack Santiago. “We never think na sure na kami sa Final Four, so paghahandaan pa rin namin yung mga laban namin.”
UE came alive after the halftime break, finding its groove from rainbow country to drop 25 points in the third quarter to grab a 53-35 lead, which further extended to its biggest at 23, 69-46, courtesy of a Lingolingo layup.
The second round dry spell continued for the Bulldogs, who lost their third straight to fall to 2-8.
Tebol Garcia topped the blue-and-gold with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists off the bench, while Jolo Manansala got 11 and eight in the losing cause.
The Scores:
UE 74 – Momowei 17, Lingolingo 14, Galang 12, Maga 9, Abate 6, J. Cruz-Dumont 5, Fikes 3, Mulingtapang 2, Wilson 2, Spandonis 2, Robles 2, H. Cruz-Dumont 0, Malaga 0, Go 0, Finney 0, Jimenez 0.
NU 58 – Garcia 12, Manansala 11, Figueroa 9, Palacielo 7, Enriquez 7, Parks 3, Lim 3, Tulabut 3, Perciano 2, Santiago 1, Padrones 0, Yu 0, Jumamoy 0, Francisco 0, Dela Cruz 0.
Quarters: 13-6, 28-24, 53-35, 74-58.
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