FilOil: Olivarez, Sumido lead UE as Warriors tame Tigers

In a tight race for the third spot in the Group B standings, the stage was set for a barnburner between UE and UST, who were tied with the same record at 3-2. In the end, the men in red and white prevailed, as the Red Warriors stifled the Growling Tigers 85-68, on Saturday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

“We cannot be complacent. We cannot be content. Yun yung lagi kong nireremind ko s a kanila. This team is a finalist. UST is a finalist”," said UE head coach Boysie Zamar. “Tambakan mo ng bente, babalik at babalik yan.”

The Red Warriors scale the standings all the way to the third seed with a 4-2 record, just below the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the DLSU Green Archers. The Growling Tigers plummet to the number five spot with a 3-3 card, with the Letran Knights momentarily holding on to the fourth seed.

The Growling Tigers cut UE’s 16-point halftime lead to five midway through the third quarter, but the Red Warriors came out blazing in the fourth, upping their advantage to 20 within four minutes left in the game.

Five UE players combined for 71 points for their squad. Newcomer Ralf Olivarez scored 17 points, making all his field goals (7-7) and his free throws (3-3). He led four other UE players in double figures, as the Red Warriors shot a red-hot 52 percent after making 34 of their 66 attempts.

Olivarez was supposed to make the team last year but sustained an ACL injury. The small forward from Cagayan de Oro will be playing his first and last year for the Red Warriors come Season 76.

UE heavily out-rebounded its foes, 47-33, and converted 19 points off 17 UST turnovers. They made eight out of 22 attempts from distance for a 36 percent clip, and assisted on 18 of their 34 shots.

Roi Sumang and JM Noble fired two quick triples to start the game, but Jeric Teng countered with one of his own, 6-3. Lord Casajeros made a quick lay-in as UST continued committing turnovers, while Adrian Santos tipped in a UE miss to put them up 12-3 in the first three minutes.

Casajeros roughhoused Robin Tan, while the latter was bringing the ball midcourt, and Tan was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul for second motion. Sumang split the charities, but failed to convert on the ensuing possession. The Tigers scored six straight points off Ed Daquioag, Aljon Mariano, and Karim Abdul, as UST inched closer at 13-9, but a triple by Jay-Ar Sumido quelled UST’s short rally at 16-9. A free throw by Tata Bautista and a lay-in by Kevin Ferrer however cut UST's deficit to four, 16-12.

Olivarez completed a three-point play for UE but Mariano closed off the quarter with a short jumper to make it a five-point affair, 19-14, after the first 10 minutes of the game.

Sumang banked a quick lay-in as the second quarter started, 21-17. Ferrer hit a triple but Casajeros fought back with a jumper of his own, 23-17. Teng scored with a nifty jumper within five feet, but Santos came up with a basket inside to keep it at 25-19.

Four straight points by Mariano sliced the UE lead to four points, but a jumper by Olivarez made it a two-possession game again, 27-23. Chris Javier failed to complete a three-point play but Jairold Flores added two of his own to widen the gap at 31-23. Olivarez countered a lay-up by Teng, and UST couldn't get anything off, running out of time on the ensuing possession for their fourth shot clock infraction.

After Edcor Marata made a fast break basket, UE went on an 8-0 rally, courtesy of a jumper by Olivarez and back-to-back triples by Sumido. Daquioag drew a foul on a three-point attempt but Flores nailed a triple on their last possession to give UE a sizable 44-28 lead heading into the second half.


Teng opened the third quarter with a jumper to cut the lead to 14, only for Javier punched back with a lay-up, 30-46. The Tigers scored seven unanswered points to get the lead down to single digits, 46-37, after a short jumper by Mariano. A tip by Santos brought the lead back to double digits, but free throws by Teng brought UST within nine, 48-39.

UST kept clawing to cut the lead down to single digits, and got within striking distance after Bautista sank a triple from the left corner to make it 53-48. Sumido made his fourth triple of the game for a 53-45 tally, but Bautista fired back, cutting the lead to five, 53-48.

After a UST timeout, the Tigers finally nicked the Warriors thanks to six points from Ferrer and Mariano, 57-54. Two straight baskets by Santos down low neutralized a jumper by Mariano to make it 61-56, and Sumang got the hoop and the harm to make it 64-56. Sumang banked another lay-up on their final possession to bring the lead back within double digits, 66-56, one quarter remaining.

Olivarez added to the lead with a short jumper, 68-56, but Lo answered back with a lay-up, 68-58. Javier, Olivarez, Sumang, and Sumido all contributed to a 12-2 run that spanned four minutes, in which saw the Warriors lead by as much as 20. Olivarez hit the free throw after Ferrer was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul, making it 78-58 in favor of the Warriors. From there on, the Tigers put up small pockets of resistance, but could not generate enough offense as the Warriors went home with an 85-68 win.

The Growling Tigers made only 23 of their 68 shots (34 percent), and were just 17-of-35 from within the arc. They made six of their 20 attempts from distance, while adding 16 from the stripe, but gave up 17 turnovers to UE’s pressure defense.

Mariano scored 15 points in a losing cause, making only five of his 13 attempts. Teng followed suit with 13 points, making only four of his 13 tries while Bautista and Ferrer both churned out 10 points.

UE continues their preseason campaign on Wednesday, May 22, when they square off against the winless LPU Pirates at 2:30pm, while the Tigers clash with the same team on Friday, May 24, at 12:45pm. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

UE – Olivarez 17, Sumido 16, Sumang 15, Jaiver 13, Santos 10, Casaheros 8, Noble 3, Flores 3, Hernandez 0, Pujante 0, Guion 0, Bonleon 0, Galanza 0, Jumao-As 0, Olayon 0

UST – Mariano 15, Teng 13, Bautista 10, Ferrer 10, Daquioag 7, Abdul 5, Lo 4, Marata 2, Faundo 2, Pe 0, Hainga 0, Tan 0, Cruz 0, Tan 0, Sheriff 0, Lao 0

Quarter scoring: 19-14, 44-28, 66-56, 85-68