University of the East had the worst start in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament, losing its first four games to crash to the bottom of the standings.
All those pent up frustrations were eventually released on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena as the Red Warriors lambasted Far Eastern University in a 25-point blowout, 90-65.
UE head coach Joe Silva credited his team’s first win to his players’ desire to finally get over the hump.
“We wanted to win, we’re down there in the standings and we should at least get one win before the second round,” said forward Jason Varilla who had 17 points and five rebounds. “We came here to play hard because FEU’s one of the top dogs in the UAAP.”
The Red Warriors are still at the eighth spot with a 1-4 record but the win at least gave them a semblance of hope heading into the second round.
Alvin Pasaol said they poured all their efforts against the Tamaraws with the stigma of losing their first four games already hounding them.
“We came here to play. We just needed to double our effort because we didn’t show any during the first four games so against FEU we showed everyone that we can do more than what we’ve done in the past games,” said Pasaol in Filipino.
Despite coming off the bench, which was a first for him this season, Pasaol still finished with a game-high 25 points with 13 rebounds and five steals.
Pasaol and Varilla did put up gaudy numbers in the offensive end but there was one man who quietly did his job as he orchestrated UE’s offense, and that was point guard Philip Manalang.
With his two teammates carrying much of the scoring, Manalang just did his part in distributing the ball as he finished with a 13-point, 12-assist double-double,
Manalang said his patience paid off after watching his teammates find their rhythm after four fruitless games.
“I think during the first four games, as a point guard you’re just waiting for your teammates for your shooters to connect,” said Manalang in Filipino. “When they started hitting their shots, this gave me the freedom to drive because the defense started to spread.”