UE Red Warriors shoot down Falcons for 2nd win

MANILA, Philippines – For two quarters, it seemed the young, rookie-laden Adamson Soaring Falcons would have a chance to pull out a win over the University of the East Red Warriors, one of the contenders this UAAP season. 

That belief was further reinforced heading into halftime, when AdU held a slim margin over UE. However when the second half arrived, so did the Red Warriors, who overwhelmed the Soaring Falcons on all fronts to record their second win this season, 99-72, on Sunday evening, July 19, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

After Saturday’s game, one thing was clear: University of the East is definitely one of the deadliest teams this season, and their ability to flip the switch and turn up the pressure on both ends of the floor is going to be scary for the rest of the league. 

“I talked to the boys at halftime and told them, ‘we’re not playing our game,'” said UE head coach Derrick Pumaren after the game, before later admitting that “I was quite disappointed with the way we played in the first half.” 

“They responded to the challenge. They were able to step up.”

Roi Sumang finished with 15 points and 6 assists while Pedrito Galanza topscored for the Red Warriors with 16 markers.

Chris Javier and Paul Varilla combined for 18 to help out. 

“As I told the boys, we have not proven anything yet,” Pumaren added later on. “Our big test now will be next Sunday (July 27) when we will play the defending champion (La Salle).” 

The script of the game turned in the third quarter when UE came out refocused and reenergized. The Falcons had no answer for the Warriors’ press, as they accumulated numerous turnovers which University of the East quickly turned into points.  

Moreover, the Red Warriors figured the zone defense being presented by the Soaring Falcons, while Sumang began to heat up. With 3:40 left in the period, UE’s lead had ballooned to 14, 57-43.  

Before the end of the period, tempers started to flare. Not long after Moustaph Arafat completed an alley-oop slam off a Dan Alberto pass, an unsportsmanlike foul was assessed to Joseph Nalos for throwing a shot below the belt. His action resulted to free throws for Gallarza, who would also nail another 3-ball not long after. 

Entering the fourth quarter, the game had gotten out of hand with UE ahead by 17, 69-52, which was too much of a deficit for the inexperienced Soaring Falcons to come back from.

Charles Mammie and Arafat combined for just 12 markers, but pulled down 15 rebounds.

Adamson was led by William Polican who had 16 points, and Celedonio Trollano, who finished with 14 but was called for a second unsportsmanlike foul and will be suspended in his team’s next game.

After not being able to hold onto their lead over Adamson in the first quarter, the Red Warriors continued to receive a formidable challenge from the Falcons in the second period.

A three-pointer by Alberto pushed his club’s lead to five, 28-23, but Adamson responded with an 8-0 run, taking advantage of easy scoring opportunities on the break created by their halfcourt pressure and zone defense. 

Following a 3-ball by University of the East that knotted the match, consecutive baskets by Trollano and Alex Inigo gave Adamson a four-point breathing room, 35-31, with a little under three minutes to go in the first half.

A tandem of three-pointers by Alberto put the momentum of the game back on his team’s side and upped his total number of threes on the season to eight. However, the Falcons managed to keep its lead entering the half, 40-39, with Sumang limited to just three points in the first 24 minutes of action. – Rappler.com

First game result: NU makes it two in a row by dispatching UP