FilOil: UE mounts furious rally, tops UST for Finals berth

(Updated 4:22pm) The University of the East Red Warriors are returning to the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup Finals for the first time since 2009, after tripping the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 77-75, on Friday at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

The Tigers established themselves on defense in the first half to lead by as much as 16 points midway through the third period, 50-34. However, Warriors returned the favor and regrouped to launch a 30-9 blitz spanning the third and fourth quarters, to take a 64-59 lead.

Kevin Ferrer and Aljon Mariano offset the loss of Karim Abdul and Jeric Teng to foul trouble, as a driving lay-up by Mariano briefly gave the Tigers a 73-72 lead with a minute and change left. But poor defensive execution led to an and-one by JM Noble, followed by a bucket by Charles Mammie in the paint, 77-73, with 21 seconds left on the clock.

UST called for time and got Paolo Pe a baseline jumper with 12 seconds on the clock, 77-75. The PCCL champs then trapped Roi Sumang to force a jumpball situation, and the possession arrow gifted the ball to the Tigers with nine seconds to play.

Unfortunately they couldn't get a decent look off in time, as the Warriors fouled anew to reset the play, and Ed Daquioag's potential game-winner from deep was released too late and rimmed out as well.

The Warriors, who finished the eliminations with a 6-2 record, will face the winner of the San Beda-National University game later today.

Warriors head coach Boysie Zamar was pleased that his team rallied back, late in the second half, to make a statement victory, saying, "Yung last part ng third quarter, a little bit of the 'new' UE Red Warriors showed. And down the line we showed our determination, and that's the most essential thing for them. I keep telling them that they can't win one-on-one.

"They were used to playing selfishly but they woke up from a deep slumber, pero dapat siguro pang pukpokin ang mga ulo nito."

Sumang, Noble and Mammie scored 16 points each for the Warriors, including 14- and 13-point efforts in the second half by Noble and Mammie, respectively. Mammie registered 10 rebounds as well, while Sumang and Noble tallied five each. Sumang also led all UE players in the assists department, issuing five.

Mammie foreshadowed his side's win when he wrote "Karim Abdul is my next victim" on his shoes, in reference to beating another foreign center in the quarterfinals, Adamson University's Ingrid Sewa.

Karim Abdul immediately impacted the game in the first quarter as he anchored the Tigers' interior defense. On the other end, Abdul scored eight to complement fast break lay-ins by Ed Daquioag to erect a 12-8 lead.

Chris Javier buried a triple with under four minutes to play to draw them within one, but the Warriors succumbed to the Tigers' pesky defense. Poor defensive rebounding and slow close-outs by UE led to a 10-3 UST run, highlighted by a baseline turnaround by Jeric Teng, to put the Red Warriors into a 22-14 hole after the first period.

Roi Sumang couldn't finish a four-point play in the second quarter, but that was the least of the Warriors' worries. UST's interior defense continued to hold, and open looks by Teng and Clark Bautista added to a double-digit spread, 33-19.

Sumang played more aggressively to keep his team in the game with three minutes to play, attacking the rim in transition and finding open looks for his teammates. UE located Lord Casajeros for a corner triple with less than a minute remaining, capping a 7-2 run, but Paolo Pe replied quickly on the other end, helping the Tigers keep a 39-26 lead at halftime.

By halftime, Abdul had racked up 12 points on a 6-of-8 shooting clip from the field, and six rebounds. His team shot 16-of-43 (37 percent) from the field, thanks to a 26-22 rebounding advantage (11-5 offensive) and a 5-14 turnover spread.

Meanwhile the Warriors were just 10-of-27 (37 percent) on field goal attempts. The large disparity in shots was explained by UST's large advantages in second-chance points (8-0) and turnover points (14-0).


Both teams scored back-and-forth in the third period. UE earned their points via taking it to the hoop, highlighted by a reverse slam in transition by Mammie, but the Tigers found their opportunities off Warriors' turnovers and their own offensive caroms, 47-34.

A Kevin Ferrer triple gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the game, 50-34, with under five minutes to play. However, the Warriors stormed back into contention. Noble found gaps in the driving lanes, and combined with Javier for nine points in a 12-3 run, 53-46.

With a minute left, Aljon Mariano finished an and-one in transition to bring the lead back to double digits. But fouls on Mammie and Sumang on the other end, coupled with a breakaway lay-up from Noble sliced the UST lead to 56-50 entering the final quarter.

An energized Warriors five took the floor in the first quarter, forcing the UST into errors and making them pay on the other end. Adrian Santos and Sumang registered and-ones, and Mammie drew Abdul's fourth personal foul in the lane and made both free throws for the first time in the game, as UE socked the Tigers with another rally, outscoring them 14-3 for a 64-59 advantage.

UST called for time with under seven minutes left and countered with triples from Bautista and Ferrer to kick off their final 14-8 counter, 73-72, with just over a minute left. However, the Tigers were eventually worn down, going on to lose Abdul, Teng and Ferrer to fouls

Teng and Mariano chipped in, but their run came at a price, as Gino Jumao-as drew Abdul's fifth foul while attacking the rim with three and a half minutes to play. Worse, an unsportsmanlike foul on Teng led to more charities for Jumao-as, 69-65. Teng fouled out moments later and so did Mariano before the final minute, crippling the Tigers' chances at making a comeback against their UAAP rivals.

The Warriors shot 17-of-30 in the second half (57 percent) to finish the game with a 27-of-57 mark (47 percent). In contrast, the Tigers dipped to 14-of-39 (36 percent) to end with a 30-of-82 clip (37 percent).

UE attempted 33 shots from the free throw line and made 22 (61 percent) while the Tigers took only 14 freebies for the entire game and made nine (64 percent).

UST held the edge in rebounding (46-44, including 20-10 offensive), second-chance points (17-7) and turnover points (19-10).

Kevin Ferrer headlined the Tigers with 19 points and six rebounds. Karim Abdul posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jeric Teng and Aljon Mariano tied for a dozen points each and 11 boards but combined for a 10-of-35 clip from the field. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

UE 77: Sumang 16, Mammie 16, Noble 16, Javier 9, Jumao-as 5, Santos 5, Casajeros 3, Sumido 3, Olivarez 2, Hernandez 2, Flores 0, Bonleon 0, Guion 0, Olayon 0

UST 75: Ferrer 19, Abdul 14, Teng 12, Mariano 12, Pe 8, Bautisdta 6, Daquioag 4, Lo 0, So 0, Hainga 0

Quarter scoring: 14-22, 26-39, 56-50, 77-75