Warriors avoid meltdown, nip Tigers

MANILA, Philippines – UE overpowered a listless University Santo Tomas early and held on to the lead this time en route to a 72-62 victory in the 77th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.

Despite getting the win – the Warriors’ third in seven games – UE head coach Derrick Pumaren was hardly satisfied.

"At the end it was not really a good win for us. We tend to relax. We need to get over the hump hopefully after this game," said Pumaren, noting the Warriors’ propensity to give away big leads in the fourth quarter.

Using their vaunted pressing defense and balanced scoring attack, the Recto-based squad dominated the game, even limiting UST to a measly four-point output in the second quarter, before squandering most of their 29-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Emil Palma topscored for the Warriors with 14 points in game that featured seven players scored six points or more for UE.

The Tigers tried to mount a comeback late in the game, opening the fourth quarter with a 14-0 blast capped by a 3-pointer from Kevin Ferrer to cut the deficit, 45-60, with 6:58 remaining.

But the Warriors countered with a quick 8-0 zip that effectively took the fight out of their foes as the former seized a 68-45 advantage at the 5:03 mark.

UST finished the game with a 15-2 run albeit mainly against UE bench players.

Despite ending the first round of the elims with a 3-4 win-loss card, Pumaren said his wards remain optimistic.

"They still have a positive attitude. They know what they can and what they are capable of doing," he shared.

UE star guard Roi Sumang suffered a sprained ankle in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the game.

UST, which absorbed its third straight loss to tie UE in the standings, play played minus Cameroonian center Karim Adbul, who was out due to a viral infection and dehydration.

Aljon Mariano paced the Tigers 21 points while Kevin Ferrer added 12.