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Filipino-American forward Ethan Galang saves the day for UE with two clutch treys as the Red Warriors barge into the winning column in UAAP Season 87
MANILA, Philippines – Ethan Galang delivered when it mattered most for the UE Red Warriors as they broke through in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament with a nail-biting 56-51 win over the FEU Tamaraws at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, September 18.
Despite struggling from the field the whole contest, Galang sank crucial back-to-back treys in the final minute of the ball game, including the cold-blooded triple with only 25 seconds left to give UE a 54-51 lead.
FEU’s Jorick Bautista had two chances to tie the game at 54-all, but the spitfire guard missed both his three-point attempts, as Galang sealed the deal for UE with a pair of charities.
The Filipino-American forward Galang finished with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, with 8 markers coming in the crucial stages, while Gjerard Wilson also scored 10 for the Red Warriors in the come-from-behind win.
“I know I was off pretty much the whole game, but in that last minute, it’s just — keep shooting, keep my head up, whatever happened in the past can stay in the past, just keep shooting,” said Galang.
UE trailed by as many as 10 points both in the second and third quarters, before coming alive late in the third salvo and the early goings of the final frame to tie things up at 42-all at the 7:43 mark of the fourth period.
With FEU holding a precarious 51-48 lead with under two minutes remaining, Galang then sank a booming three-pointer to tie the game with 1:16 remaining, followed by a go-ahead long bomb at the same spot with exactly 25 seconds to play – which ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
“The boys responded very well. It’s so hard to play with a 0-2 record, but I just gave some instructions to the boys to just stick together. Whatever happened, stick to the game plan” said UE head coach Jack Santiago. “I’m happy that even though we’re down, we were still following our game plan.”
Rainer Maga backstopped Galang and Wilson with 9 points, while UE’s foreign student-athlete Precious Momowei collected 7 markers and 12 rebounds in their first win in three outings.
Bautista led the Tamaraws in their third loss in as many games with 16 points on 6-of-18 field goal clip, while rookie Veejay Pre continued his solid showing with 13 markers, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists.
The setback came just four days after FEU also suffered a late collapse, blowing a double-digit lead before a 62-60 heartbreaker against NU.
The Scores
UE 56 – Wilson 10, Galang 10, Maga 9, Momowei 7, Lingolingo 7, Cruz-Dumont 4, Abate 4, Mulingtapang 3, Fikes 2, Robles 0, Jimenez 0, Spandonis 0.
FEU 51 – Bautista 16, Pre 13, Konateh 6, Alforque 5, Bagunu 5, Pasaol 3, Ona 3, Montemayor 0, Nakai 0, Daa 0, Jones 0, Duque 0.
Quarters: 9-14, 25-32, 38-42, 56-51.
– Rappler.com
