UE a win away from history

By Ian Brion
Business Mirror
September 13, 2007

Now, it all boils down to one game.

University of the East (UE) has ducked talk about the “S” word for some time, but with one game left in the preliminaries, the Red Warriors can’t escape the fact that they are on the verge of history.

UE tries to become only the second team in the annals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines to sweep the elimination round when it faces De La Salle U in Season 70 of the men’s basketball tournament today at the Araneta Coliseum.

“I’m getting the vibe that this is it—this is our time,” said Marcy Arellano.

“This is our best chance [of winning the title], so we won’t let go of this chance, we’ll give our best,” the UE team captain added.


A victory over the Archers won’t exactly be icing on the cake for a UE team that is on a mission this season. If the Warriors finish with an undefeated record, they gain an automatic berth to the final round and still need to win in a best-of-three series.

But just being in the championship round will already be an accomplishment in itself for UE—a school that has not been to a title series since 1990.

The UE-De La Salle tussle is set 4 p.m.

The first game between Santo Tomas U and Far Eastern U (FEU) at 2 p.m. likewise has Final-Four implications. An FEU victory will force another UST-FEU game to decide the fourth semifinal team.

“We have to be consistent, that’s all we have to do [against De La Salle]. No let up,” said Dindo Pumaren.

“We’ve been in situations before when we have to face an acid test but the complexion of the boys’ games didn’t change. I think they can hold their own,” the fourth-year UE coach added.

In the first round, De La Salle (9-4) couldn’t keep in step with UE, losing 96-76. In today’s rematch, however, more than school pride or family bragging rights is on the line.

A win by the Archers, who are currently tied for second and third places with the idle Ateneo Blue Eagles, gives them a better shot at grabbing the coveted twice-to-beat incentive.

“We always play to win, whether it’s against our brother or our wife,” said De La Salle coach Franz Pumaren, whose team is coming off an 89-87 heartbreaker to the Ateneans. “We’ll definitely give [UE] a run for their money.”

“We’re not looking too far ahead,” said Dindo Pumaren, when asked if he is predicting a championship. “We’re just going for win No. 14, we’re not thinking about anything else.”

The Warriors will bank on a solid starting unit (led by Arellano and Mark Borboran, UE’s leading scorer) and a roster that can go 10-man deep.

The Archers, who have a relatively shallower bench, will rely on the Big Three of Ty Tang, JV Casio and Rico Maierhofer.

Of equal significance is the UST-FEU face-off.

A victory by UST (8-5) gives the defending champions the fourth semifinal seat. The most complicated scenario at the end of the elimination round Saturday is a possible three-way tie at 9-5 among UST, De La Salle and Ateneo. In such a scenario, UST gains the No. 2 spot because of a superior quotient.

For its part, FEU needs to beat UST twice in a row in order to earn a Final-Four slot. If they win, the Tamaraws tie the Tigers with an 8-6 record to force the do-or-die match.

“’We didn’t believe we would go as far as this, and we’re already happy with what we’ve done,” said rookie FEU coach Glen Capacio. “But since we’re here now, we will do all our best to go farther.”

Capacio’s Tamaraws won handily over the defending champions, 81-66, in the first round, and at one point during the season was in the thick of the fight atop the leaderboard until key losses to Ateneo and De La Salle had FEU fighting for semifinal life.

Forwards Marnel Baracael and JR Cawaling lead the pack for the Tamaraws, while leading Most Valuable Player candidate Jervy Cruz and Twin Towers tandem Khasim Mirza are at the forefront for UST.

Standings— x-UE 13-0, x-Ateneo 9-4, x-La Salle 9-4, y-UST 8-5, FEU 7-6, NU 5-8, Adamson 1-12, UP 0-13. (x)—clinched semifinals slot; (y)—clinched playoff berth.