The Final Score: Red Storm Rises to the UAAP Finals

With less than six minutes remaining in the game, Rudy Lingganay collected a Tamaraw miss and, from the backcourt, quickly searched for a teammate nearest to the UE basket. While FEU defenders wandered in a daze, Lingganay fired a perfect pass to Pari Llagas. Llagas, always outsized but never outworked, dashed like Usain Bolt to find a gorgeous spot under UE’s goal. Llagas scored an uncontested lay-up while unsuspecting defenders watched in dismay. UE surged ahead 70-68. It was a familiar refrain all throughout the game. UE ran. FEU scampered to keep up. In the end, the Warriors’ open-court genius drove the Tamaraws insane.

FEU, visibly flustered, even tried to mimic UE’s run-and-fun style on some occasions. JR Cawaling, for instance, attempted to wiggle out of a triple team with a behind-the-back dribble in the closing seconds of the third quarter. Cawaling lost the ball. FEU and street-ball in the Final Four was like “barong" with “maong". It just didn’t work. On the other hand, UE kept on scoring on broken plays and lucky breaks. When the Warriors struck, it was quick, unplanned, unexpected and unstoppable. I felt for the Tamaraws. They looked like they were out to destroy opponents back in July. They had a PBL-hardened core and rookies who were built like fifth year players. Then, they lost to Ateneo at the end of the second round. The wheels of a jittery racecar came flying off. Point guard Mark Barroca was voted off the island. Suddenly, the once vaunted Tamaraws became castaways on Survivor Samoa. As I watched the Tamaraws valiantly sprint step-for-step with UE, I knew FEU flirted with disaster. Running with UE is like swimming with sharks in a country club pool. In one sequence, the Tamaraws tried to score on a fast-break only to watch big men Aldrech Ramos and Reil Cervantes miss in succession. True enough, in the final two minutes of Thursday’s knockout game, FEU’s players, overwhelmed by pressure and bewildered by distraction, floated like drifters on an unknown island. As expected, Paul Lee failed to duplicate his fourth quarter magic from last Saturday. The former Staglet, however, still owned the final quarter of Thursday’s rubber match. With 3:36 left, Lee goaded the bigger Cervantes into committing an unsportsmanlike foul. Cervantes’ ill-timed elbow to Lee’s face could very well have been a punch delivered straight to FEU’s groin. If there was an award for MVP of the Final Four, Lee deserved it 200%. He symbolized what FEU sorely missed in the last two games, maybe even the entire season. While the crowd chanted “Paul Lee, Paul Lee, Paul Lee", FEU looked around and realized it had no Maximus. Several plays later, Cervantes posted up Lee anew. The taller Tamaraw faced the basket, leaned into Lee and launched what looked like a sure deal. The ball swirled out. Lee, afterwards, settled the final score with two converted free throws, 78-72. A crimson tide engulfed the Big Dome. Red fever shockingly invaded the UAAP Finals. – GMANews.TV