Warriors storm back to beat Archers, keep semis hopes afloat

MANILA, Philippines – Never-say-die University of the East wiped out a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and snatched a 68-66 victory over La Salle to stay alive in the race for a Final Four berth in the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball tourney Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Bong Galanza knocked in a clutch trey and Dan Alberto pulled off a crucial steal and three-point play as the Warriors detonated a 16-2 bomb to seize a 67-63 cushion going to the last 19.3 seconds and protected it down the line en route to their huge win.

The Warriors, who have stretched their win streak to four games and 8-5 overall, kept their bids for a semis berth flickering. They’ll seek to finish the elims with nine wins on Tuesday against Santo Tomas and hope that fourth-running National U (8-4 at posting time) would end up with a similar record to force a playoff for the F4.

The Green Archers dropped to 9-4 and face a must-win situation in their next outing against NU on Saturday to secure a rubber match for the Top 2 and twice-to-beat.

“I think this was a character game for us. We were down by 10 points but the boys kept their poise, they refused to lose. We came back, played defense even if we were in a bit of panic mode when La Salle made their run, we tightened up on defense. Bong (Galanza) came in, scored a big trey right away. I’m really, really proud of how they played,” said UE coach Derrick Pumaren.

“It was a total team effort. Our battlecry for tonight was we gotta keep fighting to survive. That’s what we did,” he added.

Galanza paced the Warriors with 21 points while Roi Sumang came off the bench to shoot 14. Chris Javier and Alberto added eight and six, respectively.

The Archers appeared headed to a blowout when they rained treys in a 12-8 exchange that put them on top, 61-51.

Then came the UE fightback.

“I told them the (earlier) victories against NU and FEU won’t mean anything kung hindi namin makukuha ang game na ito because we’re still trying to stay alive. We’re not out of the woods yet, wala pa rin kami dun (Final Four).

“We still have to take care of things against UST on Tuesday (to try to force a playoff for F4),” said Pumaren.

Ranged against a smaller lineup in the endgame, Pumaren was forced to bring in Alberto to join Sumang at the backcourt and his back-up playmaker didn’t disappoint, stripping Almond Vosotros of possession to pave the way for an And-1 play off Jeron Teng.

“Dan was not actually playing well, I feel he’s kinda slow and not playing his usual game. But he came back and stepped up. He made a big, big steal,” said Pumaren.

The Warriors have won four straight now, breathing life into a campaign that was initially sour.

“Everybody’s stepping up their game, the boys are stepping into the plate,” said Pumaren. “I’ve been handling them now for five months, they’re getting more familiar and more confident with all the things we are doing.”

Teng topscored for La Salle with 23 markers.