Red Warriors stun semis contender Green Archers

University of the East picked the right time to bounce back from a 40-point defeat against National University. After UE's humiliating 91-51 loss to NU last week—a setback that would have typified their season, the Red Warriors answered in a big way stunning Final Four contender De La Salle University, 74-69, Saturday in the 74th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum. "Whether you got beaten by 100 or 1,000 points, it's just a loss. Forget about what other people say that we the league's whipping boys, it's a matter of bouncing back, forgetting about the loss and getting back by preparing and working extra hard for the next game," said UE coach Jerry Codiñera, who steered the Red Warriors to their second win in seven matches. Codiñera's second win in his young UAAP coaching career came at the expense of Dindo Pumaren, his long-time Purefoods teammate in the PBA. His first victory came against NU's Eric Altamirano, his former PBA mentor, in the first round. Paul Zamar scored 19 points and was one-point shy of matching his career-high in UE's 72-71 first-round win over NU. JM Noble added 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks. UE opened the fourth period with a 9-0 spurt and a Chris Javier short stab gave the Red Warriors a 13-point spread, 65-52, a lead that provided the Recto-based squad enough cushion to beat La Salle. The Green Archers had a mini-run as it trailed, 70-64, and tried to further trim the Red Warriors' lead to four but Simon Atkins turned the ball over during a fastbreak play with 57.3 seconds left in the game. Noble made La Salle pay with a jumper at the other end to seal the win for UE, 72-64, with 40 ticks to go. "We continue to adjust as the games go on. We are still looking for the right people on the floor and try to manage the playing time of the players," said Codiñera. Codiñera hopes the victory would boost the team's morale as they try to chase a Final Four berth. "I still believe in this team since the preseason as long as we give ourselves an opportunity to win a game. Norbert Torres had 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while Joshua Webb, back after a bout of illness, scored 11 and had two blocks for the Green Archers. Yutien Andrada suffered a freak injury in the first quarter where he sprained his right knee and didn't return in the game. - JVP, GMA News