Pumaren: Experience will make UE a better team

University of the East head coach Derrick Pumaren. Mark Giongco/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — In the end, University of the East came within just a bucket short of what could have been an incredible ride to the UAAP Final Four.

“I think we should be there, with the way we played in that big run that we made [in the second round],” said UE coach Derrick Pumaren.

In any other season, UE’s 9-5 record would have been good enough for a semifinal stint. But the Warriors had to go through a playoff match against the National University Bulldogs, who pulled off a 51-49 escape to clinch the last semifinal berth last Saturday.

Bong Galanza, the senior shooter who emerged as UE’s biggest revelation this season, tried to win it for the Warriors but missed a potential game-winning triple at the buzzer.

“We cannot just look at it as the last shot of Bong,” said Pumaren. “We have to look at the overall picture of the game. We missed a lot of free throws, especially down the stretch.”

Pumaren thinks the Warriors could have gotten their campaign off to a better start, even if their late-season run proved to be a thrill.

They strung up five straight wins—including huge upsets over La Salle, Far Eastern University and NU—to tie the Bulldogs at fourth spot.

Add to that some team drama that had Pumaren benching Roi Sumang in one game as his star guard failed to show up in practice.

And there was center Charles Mammie sitting out the first half of another match as a disciplinary measure for arriving just before tip-off.

“We have to start the season on the right note,” said Pumaren. “We cannot wait for the second round until we make our move.”

But Pumaren said that perhaps, it also took time for his players to adapt to his system, as he only came on board three months before the season fired off.

“Hopefully next season, we’ll come out strong and this experience will make us a better team,” he said. “It was a great journey, especially in the end. Despite of all the things that happened, the team managed to stay together. We were able to make that run where we almost made it.”