UE-La Salle tiff for UAAP cage title begins today

The undefeated University of the East (UE) Red Warriors begin on Thursday their title quest after a 21-year title drought when they battle the De La Salle (DLSU) Green Archers who are out for redemption after being suspended last year due to an ineligibility scandal. The finals series also pits against each other brothers Franz and Dindo Pumaren who are coaching for Green Archers and Red Warriors, respectively. The two squads face off for Game 1 of the 70th UAAP men’s basketball finals at the Araneta Coliseum, 3 p.m. on Thursday. Expected to provide the scoring load for the Red Warriors are top playmaker Marcy Arellano, power-forwards Mark Borboran and Elmer Espiritu, center Kelvin Gregorio and shooting guard Jorel Canizares. The Green Archers, on the other hand, will be led by MVP candidate JV Casio, veteran guard Cholo Villanueva, point-guard Tyrone Tang and Center Rico Maierhofer. UE’s Pumaren said that while the team has been on a hiatus for almost three weeks, the players’ morale remains high and are poised to take the crucial Game 1. The Red Warriors went on a break after clinching their first finals appearance in the last 17 years on Sept. 13 when they completed a rare, 14-game sweep of the elimination for an outright berth in the title series. UE is gunning for its 19th UAAP men’s senior basketball title since joining the league in 1954. “We’ve been off for the past 20 days. But the morale of the team is still very high and we’re all excited to be in the finals," Pumaren said. “We want to take it one game at a time. Right now, all we’re thinking about is the game on Thursday. Very crucial ‘yung first few minutes nun, dahil doon talaga namin malalaman kung rusty kami," he added. The UE coach also fended off perception that the Red Warriors are the overwhelming favorites to win the title. In the regular season, UE beat the Green Archers in their two meetings – the first being a 96-76 rout, followed by a hard-earned 92-84 overtime win that clinched for UE a finals ticket. “La Salle has the championship experience. Even their coach, si Franz proven na iyan. Definitely, ang momentum nasa kanila. I just hope na pagod na sila, especially coming from a very emotional game against Ateneo," the 42-year-old mentor said. Meanwhile, back after a year of suspension from the league for fielding two ineligible players, the Archers are back in the finals – their eighth under Pumaren and 12th in the last 14 years. This, after La Salle ousted bitter rival Ateneo Blue Eagles, 65-60, in a thrilling playoff last Sunday before some 23,000 fans, one of the biggest crowd to watch a basketball game at the Big Dome. Given what they have been through during the last year, La Salle’s coach said it only proves that his team is the underdogs going to their game tomorrow. He added if given his way, he wants his championship encounter against UE a short one. “It’s a good thing we’re the underdogs right now. Kasi kahit sabihin nila na we’re coming from an emotional victory (against Ateneo), 14-0 is still 14-0. We didn’t beat them the last 2 games, so definitely we’re the underdogs. And I think the more we have to push ourselves and strive harder," said the La Salle mentor. “If you’ll ask me, of course it’s going to be a tall order so we wanted it to be a short series. It’s been a grueling season for us. In fact, this has been the longest season for me in terms of weeks of preparations because of the typhoons, playoffs and the number of games," said Franz, the elder of the two brothers. Both Franz and Dindo are prominent members of a closely-knit basketball family, which includes father Filomeno Pumaren, the former multi-titled UE mentor; and brother Derick Pumaren, the two-time La Salle champion coach who is now consultant of UE. Game 2 of the Finals slated this coming Sunday also at the Big Dome. - GMANews.TV