UE Warriors,Tigers to kick off final surge

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

2 p.m. – UST vs. ADU

4 p.m. – UE vs UP 

MANILA, Philippines - After struggling in the first round, host University of the East and last year’s runner-up University of Santo Tomas try to turn their fortunes around and boost their respective Final Four aspirations as the second round of the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball tourney kicks off today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Red Warriors, who snapped a four-game slide with a 72-62 win over the Tigers Wednesday, seek their fifth win at 4 p.m. against a University of the Philippines side (1-6) that’s on a high after ending a harrowing 27-match slump with a 77-64 over Adamson a week ago.

The Tigers, who ended the first round with three consecutive losses for 3-4 overall, hope to get back on track at 2 p.m. against Adamson (0-7), a squad they barely escaped the first time, 50-49.

Having squandered big margins in some of their first-round losses, UE coach Derrick Pumaren said his charges should learn to sustain their game and have the finishing kick.

“This is it for us. We can’t afford to make mistakes or lapses anymore. If we’ve got the lead, we’ve got to finish the game; we can’t have spurts (from the other team). We should take control of the whole game, play for 40 minutes,” said Pumaren.

“We’re still confident of our semis chances. We still have seven games,” star Roi Sumang, who suffered a mild sprain against UST but is expected to suit up against UP, said in Filipino 

The Maroons look to bring over the nice feeling of their recent victory that triggered a bonfire celebration.”We just need to concentrate on getting that second win. Hopefully that first step, the first win over Adamson, will be the start of the momentum,” said manager Dan Palami.

Like UE, the sixth-running Tigers aren’t losing hope. “It’s frustrating to be in the bottom rungs but we should use it a motivation in the second round,” skipper Aljon Mariano was quoted in Filipino by UST’s student publication Varsitarian, recalling being in the same boat last season yet reaching the finals.

One concern for UST will be the health of Karim Abdul, who missed the UE game due to viral infection and dehydration. He has been discharged from the hospital but remains a doubtful starter for today’s contest.

Despite dropping a 62-71 loss to No. 2 Far Eastern Wednesday, the Vince Hizon-coached Falcons feel they’ve made inroads.

“The team is in high spirits,” said manager Glibert Cruz. He said the hiring of a sports psychologist, playing a tune-up game against alumni led by PBA player Alex Nuyles, Rodney Brondial and Jan Colina, and holding a boodle fight with alumni and school officials is working.

“The team played much better in the FEU game. Hopefully, we can sustain it against UST and improve from the last game to notch our first win,” said Cruz.

Notes: The UAAP initially set a double-header pitting DLSU versus UP and UST versus Ateneo for its opening salvo for the second round today, and NU against Adamson and UE against FEU tomorrow. But the league later decided to follow the format for pairing/scheduling, which is No. 1 vs No. 3, 2 vs 4, 5 vs 7 and 6 vs 8. As such, it became UST-AdU and UE-UP today and Round 2 of the rivalry match between leader Ateneo and No. 3 La Salle tomorrow at 4 p.m. No. 2 FEU and No. 3 National U tangle at 11 a.m.