‘No choice but to go up’: Santiago relishes first UE win after snapping 15-game skid

MANILA, Philippines – After a winless 0-14 campaign last season and an opening weekend loss to the NU Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament, the UE Red Warriors finally barged into the win column for the first time since October 2019 with a 76-66 upset of the FEU Tamaraws on Wednesday, October 5.

Sophomore guard Kyle Paranada led the Red Warriors in the stunning victory with a game-high 25 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, including a cold-blooded dagger trey right in front of the Tamaraws bench with only 3:30 left in the ball game.

Following the win, second-year head coach Jack Santiago, who had a tumultuous first season with the Red Warriors, said his team has no other choice but to go up from this point on, especially now that they have already gotten their first taste of victory.

“Well, kung makikita niyo ang reaction ng mga bata, akala mo nag-champion na kami,” said Santiago.

(Well, if you see the reaction of the boys, you would think that we have already won the championship.)

“I told my players, we have no choice but to go up.”

“It’s like we’ve already reached the bottom of the sea. We have no choice but to go up,” he continued.

Santiago, however, was also quick to remind his players that they haven’t proven anything yet and a single victory shouldn’t be a cause for celebration very early in the season.

“As I said in my last interview, we were already 0-15 last game. I’m very thankful that the boys didn’t give up,” added Santiago in a mix of English and Filipino.

“This is only one game, nothing to celebrate yet.”

The Red Warriors will now look to start a winning streak when they go up against the 0-2 Adamson Soaring Falcons on Saturday, October 8 at 2 pm. – Rappler.com