Lee aims to keep Red Warriors' title hopes alive

If there's anyone from University of the East that gives Ateneo coach Norman Black a big headache that would be Paul Lee. Despite limiting him to just 15 points on a dismal 5-of-18 shooting, Black concedes that Lee is just simply unstoppable. "He going to be the headache for us. Their backs are against the wall now so even more so he's gonna come out firing so we just have to continue defending him," said Black. Black primarily used Kirk Long on the former San Sebastian Staglet during Thursday's contest but despite a quiet effort, Lee almost carried the Red Warriors back from an eight-point deficit but yielded a turnover to Ryan Buenafe that allowed the Eagles to protect a five-point lead. "We're not going to stop Paul Lee, we'll just try to control him the best we can," said Black. UE coach Lawrence Chongson opted to put Lee in a reserve role while inserting Paul Zamar into the starting lineup as a way to keep Long on the sidelines.

"He (Black) always put Long on Paul Lee," said Chongson. "So the longer Paul Lee sits, the longer Long doesn't play. We want to keep Austria in the court longer because even without Lee we still have Val Acuña." Lee entered with three minutes left in the first quarter but didn't possessed the same explosion he showed during the Recto-based squad's surprising Final Four upset of Far Eastern University. Chongson added that he is unsure whether Lee would be back into the starting lineup for UE on Sunday. The former San Sebastian Staglet showed vast improvement after winning the Philippine Basketball League's first-ever player of the conference award and eventually the season's rookie of the year plum. That propelled him to the best season of his three-year career, averaging 14.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists to be named into the mythical team. Lee’s season averages also earned him the most improved player award this year. – GMANews.TV