UAAP: UST vs UE preview and live-scoring (round 2)

Game starts at 4pm. Page auto-refreshes every 30 seconds. First round meeting: A Jeric Teng-less University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers squad had no problem dispatching the University of the East Red Warriors, 85-69, last August 12, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in the 75th season of the UAAP. The Red Warriors were in trouble right from the start, as the Tigers jumped out to a 9-2 lead early on that they never gave up for the rest of the game. Only two triples by JR Sumido kept them in the thick of things, as they trailed 15-11, after the first 10 minutes. A 17-4 run at the beginning of the second period led to UST doubling the UE output, 32-16 with 3:59 left in the first half. UE made their biggest run in the third period, but not before UST kick-started the second half with a 6-1 run. 10 unanswered points by the Red Warriors got them within 13, 47-34, but it was all UST from that point on. With the likes of Karim Abdul, Aljon Mariano and Kevin Ferrer still seeing action late in the fourth period, the Tigers continued their attack until the final buzzer sounded. Key stats: UE simply had no offense to speak of early on, as they scored just 11 and 12 points over the first and second periods, respectively. So even without Teng, who was sidelined with an MCL-sprain, UST had no trouble outscoring their foes, especially with Louie Vigil having a career outing (13 points) and Eduardo Daquioag finding his range. Also making things tough for UE was a rough outing for Roi Sumang. He played just 24 minutes and tallied 13 points on 2-of-5 shooting, with most of his damage being done from the foul line where he was 8-of-9. If JR Sumido had not caught fire with a season-high 20 points, including a 5-of-11 mark from downtown, the final margin surely would have been larger. Yet another thing in UST's favor was UE's inability to defend their running attack. Be it off a rebound or thanks to a Red Warriors turnover, the frenetic UST pace proved tough to slow down for UE. The Growling Tigers got an 18-7 edge in fast break points, and a 20-6 margin in fast break points. Perhaps the only thing going for UE in this game was their ability to get to the line. UST fouls sent UE players to the line 32 times, more than double the 15 free throws of the Tigers. However, where UST made 9-of-15, for a 60 percent clip, UE was 17-of-32, for 53.1 percent. What's at stake:  Since interim head coach Boysie Zamar took over, the Red Warriors have been more competitive, with their season highlight being an upset of the defending champions Ateneo de Manila University. They'll be out to end their season on a winning-note with a spoiler victory over UST. On the other hand, if UST wins, they'll be assured of at the very least, a playoff for the second seed, and the twice-to-beat advantage that comes along with it. Lose, and there's even a scenario where they fall out of the Final Four completely. That said, UST is also waiting on whether or not they'll be granted a rematch against Ateneo. Though they'll probably find out prior to tip-off, a successful appeal to the UAAP Board followed by wins against the Red Warriors and the Blue Eagles would put them on top of the standings, thanks to a superior quotient over ADMU.   UST needs to: Run everything through Karim Abdul, who is pretty much unstoppable versus the UE personnel. Abdul is averaging 16.5 points and 12.5 rebounds over 13 games, and tallied 20 markers and 19 boards in their first round encounter. With the Red Warriors likely to have to double-team Abdul, that means one of UST's many shooters will be left open for a three-pointer, which the big guy will need to be aware of. UE needs to: Get Gene Belleza back on track. After scorching hot performances versus FEU and especially Ateneo, Belleza produced just three markers in UE's last game against Adamson, thanks to a 1-of-8 field goal percentage. In fact, his malaise spread throughout the entire team, was the Red Warriors connected on just a single triple after 22 tries. Without their perimeter game clicking, it'll be tough for UE to gut out a win here. UST (9-4) projected starting five: Karim Abdul (22 points on 10/13 FG, 2/2 FT, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 blocks vs ADMU), Jeric Teng, Aljon Mariano, Jeric Fortuna, Kim Lo UE (3-10) projected starting five: Roi Sumang (24 points on 7/16 FG, 9/10 FT, 8 rebounds, 6 assists vs ADU), Chris Javier, JR Sumido, Adrian Santos, Gene Belleza - AMD, GMA News