Entering their contest against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the University of the East Red Warriors were on a high, riding a two-game winning streak that included a stunning upset of the Adamson Soaring Falcons. The streak brought hope to the UE community as a solid run can send them back into the Final Four mix.
For the first 10 minutes of their game last Wednesday, it seemed that they were on the verge of making it a hat-trick, leading by as much as 14 points. However, disaster struck for the Red Warriors.
“The referees called a lot of fouls against us. It put my starters on the bench, having two fouls, all of the starters ko I think,” UE head coach Derrick Pumaren lamented.
“That broke the momentum para sa akin. Instead na mababalik ko, I just had to take a gamble. Binalik ko si Paul [Varilla], he got the third foul quickly so that broke our momentum.”
And with the momentum shifting over to the Blue-side, the Red Warriors’ old sin of playing “selfish” basketball returned.
“The players ran away from what we’re doing well. They insisted on doing what they want to do. They thought that the game was over. I even warned them nung first quarter that the game is far from over,” the veteran mentor shared.
“We know Ateneo’s gonna come back. They just can’t run what they want to run and stick to the system, to what got us that lead, for whatever reason they simply ran away from what we’re doing.”
As the Blue Eagles knocked down eight triples on the Red Warriors, UE struggled on their end, falling into the trap of one-on-one plays. The result? They were only able to convert on eight of their shots in the last 20 minutes of the game – shooting a horrid from the field.
“Yan naman ang basketball e. One shift of momentum and that’s it and that’s what happened.”
And with that drastic shift of momentum that led to a 61-75 loss, the Red Warriors are on the brink of elimination with a 2-7 slate.
“Everybody’s fighting for their life. We are too. We were right there. [But now] We’re on the brink of getting eliminated,” Pumaren, who had high hopes for his team going into the season, said.
“Manong” is just hoping that they end their season strong, surrendering to the face that their Final Four hopes are out of their hands.
“Even if we take care of things we just had to.. it’s out of our hands. We just have to take care of things and hope for the best. We’re not in control anymore,” he closed.
“Yun ang sad news.”
