UE’s Nikko Paranada. –FILOIL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–University of the East is on the cusp of starting a ‘”new winning culture” after its 58-50 win over Arellano in Group A of the FilOil-EcoOil Preseason Cup on Wednesday.
UE broke its 17-game losing streak–including 14 in UAAP Season 84 and three in the current preseason–dating back to UAAP Season 82. Its last win was against the National University Bulldogs on September 19, 2019, 78-72.
“I told my boys to change the culture of the team because every time a game ends, we’re disappointed. This is the first time [in a while] that we came out to a different atmosphere,” UE head coach Jack Santiago said in the post-game presser.
The Warriors, who were up by one at halftime, 29-28, suffocated the Chiefs in the third quarter to five points.
The fourth quarter opened with UE leading, 47-33.
“This is the defense that we want to instill with our players, but we can’t get it overnight. We have a lot of players that need to [understand] this system but we still have months to prepare,” Santiago added.
UE held a 10-point advantage in the last two minutes of the payoff period, 54-44, when the Chiefs rallied with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to six, 56-50.
Wilmar Oftana missed an all-important triple with 34.3 seconds remaining for Arellano. UE’s Calvin Payawal sealed the Warriors’ win with a steal and a layup to put them up, 58-50.
UE’s Nikko Paranada scored a game-high 17 points.
Sebastian Valencia scattered 12 markers and five rebounds for Arellano.