FilOil: UE holds off Letran in foul-plenty game

The University of the East Red Warriors outlasted the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 76-64, in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup elimination round, Wednesday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

It was a low-scoring affair with none of the uptempo fire expected from both squads. The game ground to a near-halt especially in the second half, where tight officiating resulted in a combined 56 attempted free throws by both teams.

The Warriors earned their third win (3-2) while the Knights dropped back to 3-3 in Group B play.

"Kailangan namin yung mga games na ganito," said UE head coach Boysie Zamar on the ugly win.

Zamar, who took over after the team after the first round of UAAP 75, joked that if his team finished seventh in the UAAP rankings last year, they're probably looking at "seventh and a half" this year. "Pero I like our chances. UE has been a 'doughnut' team for a long time pero seven months na kaming magkasama," he said, mentioning that the addition of foreign center Charles Mammie fills an urgent need.

Chris Javier led all scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Mammie tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds. Adrian Santos and Roi Sumang finished with 10 points apiece, with the former snaring nine boards and the latter 10 assists. Ralf Olivarez chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors seized an 8-7 advantage midway through the first quarter, buoyed by Chris Javier's five points. Besides conceding a Mark Cruz triple, UE produced good results by keeping the Knights out of the lane, and on the other end, they got production from Charles Mammie and Jai Flores to lead by three. However, an unattended Fidel Castro completed a put-back with 33 seconds left to trail by just one, 15-14.

Knights reserves Ford Ruaya and Fidel Castro held down the fort in the second quarter, completing hustle plays to score Letran's first 12 points. UE got by with contributions from Ralf Olivarez and JR Sumido, but the Warriors' big men were unable to complete baskets off Roi Sumang's passes, trailing 29-26.

However, the Warriors took advantage of Letran's penalty situation and baited them into a string of fouls, resulting in charities for Mammie and Lord Casajeros. The frustrated Knights couldn't get a rhythm on offense and were held without a field goal in the last five minutes, but late charities by Jamil Gabawan kept them close, 37-35, at halftime.

The Warriors made 11-of-35 field goals at halftime (31 percent), while the Knights were 11-of-33 from the field (33 percent).


Raymond Almazan, who had just two points thus far, had to check out immediately when play resumed after picking up his third personal foul. Without him, the Warriors pulled down several offensive rebounds, although they hardly converted on those chances. Letran stayed close thanks to triples by Ruaya and Rey Nambatac, 48-45.

Save for a put-back by Olivarez, neither team scored from the field in the last five and a half minutes. They exchanged trips to the free throw line and weren't so hot at that as well. Letran went 7-of-12, while UE shot 7-of-10, the latter leading 54-50 entering the final period.

The officials didn't let go of their whistles even in the fourth quarter, where both teams quickly picked up loose ball fouls leading to penalty shots just four and a half minutes into the quarter. Letran's missed free throws caused them to fall behind by as much as 10 points, after a reverse lay-up by Adrian Santos, 66-56, with four minutes remaining.

Castro replied with a three to chip at the lead, but their following attempts from beyond the arc fell short. Meanwhile, Santos completed an and-one off a pick-and-roll with Sumang, 71-60, with a minute and a half to play.

Letran called a timeout and found Mcjour Luib in the left corner for an open triple. The Knights fouled Sumang who split from the line, but UE forced a steal and dribbled out the clock. Another made basket by Santos put the finishing touches on the win with less than 30 seconds left on the clock.

The Warriors finished the game shooting just 30-of-51 from the free throw stripe (59 percent) and 22-of-76 from the field (29 percent). In contrast, Letran was 26-of-44 from the line (59 percent) and 16-of-62 from the floor (26 percent).

Ford Ruaya led the Knights with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Fidel Castro added 11 points. Raymond Almazan, Mark Cruz and Rey Nambatac were held to a combined 18 points on 6-of-22 shooting. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

UE 76: Javier 18, Mammie 11, Sumang 10, Santos 10, Olivarez 9, Casajeros 5, Sumido 4, Hernandez 4, Flores 4, Noble 1, Pujante 0, Bonleon 0, Galanza 0, Guion 0

CSJL 64: Ruaya 13, Castro 11, Almazan 7, Bagawan 7, Cruz 6, Luib 6, Manbatac 5, Dysam 4, Publico 3, Tambeling 2, Po 0, Oluto 0, Almario 0

Quarter scoring: 15-14, 37-35, 54-50, 76-64