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Gone are the days of UE men’s basketball being borderline unwatchable as the streaking Red Warriors seek to build on their decade-best start in UAAP Season 87
MANILA, Philippines – The UE Red Warriors have plenty of reasons to celebrate at the end of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball eliminations’ first round, as they currently hold the league’s longest winning streak at five games despite starting in a 0-2 team standing hole.
Head coach Jack Santiago, however, is not interested in any of them, despite his Warriors ending the seven-game opening round with a captivating buzzer-beater win courtesy of veteran sniper Wello Lingolingo for a solid hold of third place with a 5-2 record.
UAAP | WATCH:
LINGOLINGO PANALO!
Pandemonium ensues at the Mall of Asia Arena as Wello Lingolingo buries the buzzer-beating jumper to lift UE past Adamson for the Red Warriors’ fifth straight win!
That is UE’s longest win streak in 10 years.#UAAPSeason87 pic.twitter.com/afHNQyHuFt
— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) October 6, 2024
For the seasoned mentor, the second round is a clean slate, an empty canvas where any careless splash can ruin the big picture before the first stroke is even made.
“I told them after the [Adamson] game that we’ve won and we’ve achieved what we wanted — a 5-2 record — but by the next game, we’re 0-0 again and we have no reason to relax. We’re 0-0 come the second round,” Santiago said in Filipino, essentially negating the program’s decade-best start.
“Soon, we’ll be back to reality, back to work. Back to zero.”
Emotionally conservative as he understandably may be, Santiago is still in the middle of a surprising success story, born from a three-year player transfer exodus that included big names like Clint Escamis, Harvey Pagsanjan, Gani Stevens, Kyle Paranada, and most notably, UAAP MVP runner-up Noy Remogat.
Now holding down the Red Warriors fort is a whole new group of promising standouts, from Lingolingo and young foreign student-athlete Precious Momowei, to numerous Fil-foreign recruits like Ethan Galang, John Abate, Jack Cruz-Dumont, Devin Fikes, and Gjerard Wilson.
Even without a true star to lean on, save perhaps Momowei, UE has found ways time and again to power through and win, which certainly paints the second round a fresh color.
“Ever since, I’ve always told the boys that with this batch, I honestly believe we can beat other teams,” Santiago continued.
“It just so happened we had two setbacks, but the best thing that happened for us so far is us beating the No. 1 team [La Salle]. It got us feeling we can really do this. So, from then on, we just continued working and took on the next challenges that came our way.”
From being borderline unwatchable to now being a part of the must-see marquee, the legendary Red Warriors program is finally back to contend like the days of old, and the UAAP landscape is all the better as a result.
Fans should just enjoy the ride while it lasts, one game at a time, as they always say. – Rappler.com
