A well-rested UE and a weary La Salle

By Reuben Terrado
Business Mirror
October 4, 2007

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).