The UE Red Warriors closed their season on a winning note, running away with a 79-67 win against the UP Fighting Maroons.
The Red Warriors finish the UAAP season at fifth place with a 6-8 record while the Fighting Maroons end with a 3-11 slate after starting the season 2-0.
The Red Warriors handed out 25 assists compared to UP’s 10. UE also forced UP to commit 23 turnovers and managed to score 23 points off of them. After going back and forth for most of the first half, the Red Warriors made a run to end the second period to take a nine point lead at the half. They then slowly crept away from UP, leading by as much as 18 points in the second half before running away with the victory.
“Overall, I think we’ve exceeded expectations. We’re a lot better than the standing that we had,” shared UE head coach Derrick Pumaren when asked to evaluate his team’s season after the game.
Clark Derige, who has been UE’s best player in the second round of UAAP Season 78, led the way for the Red Warriors with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Paul Varilla added 14 points and six rebounds while veteran Chris Javier tallied 13 points and six rebounds in his last UAAP game.
“Sad pero happy ako na panalo ang team sa last game ko. Lumaban kami,” said Javier.
Pumaren added, “Chris is a better player now than when I came in. He can finish shots inside and he’s got a good outside game.” He continued, saying. “If he wants to make it to the next level, he has to really work on that and so far he’s been consistent this season. Hopefully teams in the PBA noticed him.”
UP’s cause was led by Paul Desiderio who scored 26 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench. Henri Asilum also came off the bench and added 12 points, but committed five turnovers. As a team, the Fighting Maroons struggled from the field, hitting just 32 percent of their field goals.
Despite UE missing the Final Four, Pumaren remained upbeat, especially when asked about his team’s prospects for next season.
He said, “I’m pretty excited, I’m really excited to see this team next season. I expect a lot from them next year.”
This season may have just ended, but the next one could not begin any sooner for Pumaren and the Red Warriors. “Next season starts on Friday. I’m not going to wait until May or June,” announced Pumaren.
