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THE last
time University of the East (UE) saw action was on
September 13, when the Red Warriors beat the De La Salle
Green Archers in overtime, 94-82, to accomplish a rare
14-0 sweep and an outright finals berth in the
University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
Three
weeks has elapsed since their last competitive game and
the Red Warriors get back to the floor against De La
Salle at 3 p.m. today to start the best-of-three
championship series in front of an expected jampacked
crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.
Because
of the long break UE had to go through because of the
incentive it was awarded for the rare sweep, many
observers wonder whether rust will weigh the Red
Warriors down.
Even UE
coach Dindo Pumaren admits that the layoff will be a
factor, and he knows the importance of starting out
strong in the first few minutes of the game after that
long break.
“It
[rustiness] will be a factor,” Pumaren admitted. “We
have to start the right way and dictate the tempo.”
De La
Salle coach Franz Pumaren also knows the relevance of
Game One in this championship series.
“Game
One will be a crucial factor,” said Franz. “This game
will dictate the tempo of the series.”
Since
the Final Four was instituted in 1994, Game One winners
have won nine out of the 13 championship series. The
last team to lose Game One but still went on to win the
crown was Santo Tomas U (against Ateneo) only in 2006.
To
combat rust, the Warriors have been practising hard,
even though they didn’t have an idea who their opponent
will be as the stepladder phase went on with De La
Salle, Ateneo and UST.
“We
prepared for the three teams. We made sure that the
players are sharp whoever the opponent was,” said Dindo.
Franz,
though, has reservations on UE’s three-week break.
“It is
so hard waiting for your opponent. Imagine for the last
few weeks, you don’t know who you will face,” said
Franz.
But
Franz is not counting out the Red Warriors coming off
extended rest.
“UE is a
well-rested team. You look at that team, man for man,
they have the advantage. The second five could start.”
The Red
Warriors have not won a title since the 1985-86 season,
and the hunger for the title is definitely there.
But the
younger Pumaren is just looking to win Game One first
before thinking about winning the title.
“Kami
focus lang muna kami about Game One. I told
them let’s think about Thursday’s game. We are focused
one game at a time. That has been our secret, that is
why we had that 14-0 record. Ayokong magulo ang isip
nila. Basta focus sila sa game,” said Dindo,
41.
Motivation is also definitely not lacking for the Green
Archers as they gun for a championship after the
ignominious suspension its sports program suffered last
year.
“That is
another motivation, to prove something. Even though we
were away for a year, we can still make it all the way,”
Franz, 44, lamented.
James
Martinez and Marcy Arellano will man the guard spot for
UE against JV Casio and TY Tang.
Martinez
will definitely be sniping from the three-point area (41
percent), while Arellano will be banked on to score (9.1
points, third on the team) and pass (team-high 3.9
assists).
An
experienced backcourt, Casio leads De La Salle in
scoring with 15.0 points, and Tang is expected to use
his ability to look for the open man he (leads team in
assists with 4.0).
In the
frontline, De La Salle will be expecting offensive
production from Rico Maierhofer and Cholo Villanueva.
Maierhofer is the Green Archers’ second-leading scorer
with 11.9 points and leads the team in rebounding with
8.6. Villanueva, the La Sallians’ emotional leader,
averaged 9.9 points, including 13 points in his last
game against Ateneo on Sunday.
UE is
banking on Mark Borboran, Kelvin Gregorio and Pari
Llagas. Borboran tops the team in scoring with 10.7
points and has a decent three-point shot (35.6 percent).
Gregorio
is the team’s second-leading scorer with 10.1 points,
while averaging 4.3 rebounds.
Llagas
averages 7.3 points, but he can put big numbers any time
with his quick moves in the paint.
UE has a
deeper bench—which Franz Pumaren calls as good as “a
starting unit”—as Paul Lee, Hans Thiele, Rudy Lingganay
and Mark Fampulme can light up anytime and contribute.
UE led
in most of the offensive categories after the end of the
eliminations. The Red Warriors topped in scoring (1,193)
ahead of De La Salle (1,133). They also led in
field-goal percentage (43.6 percent), three-point field
goals (34.6), and assists (18.8). They are also second
in two-point field goals (46.8), free throws (65.5
percent) and rebounds (694).
Defensively, the Red Warriors only allow 69.1 points,
which leads the league.
De La
Salle gave up the ball only 215 times, topping the
league. They are also second in steals with 84.
Interestingly, UE and De La Salle shared the top two
spots in their bread and butter: fastbreak points and
turnover points.
Both the
Red Warriors and the Green Archers are tied in fastbreak
points at 212, while UE scored more turnover points
(308) than De La Salle (272). |
