Red-hot Warriors vow to stay hungry

University of the East (UE) ended the first round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 men’s basketball tournament as the hottest team after racking up five straight wins.

However, as far as head coach Jack Santiago is concerned, the Red Warriors’ longest winning streak in 10 years is a thing of the past.

The challenge now is how UE will carry that momentum in the crucial stretch of its drive for a return to the Final Four after 14 years of absence.

“We’ve achieved what we wanted to achieve in the first round which is to finish with a 5-2 (record),” Santiago said after the Red Warriors closed the first half of hostilities at third spot.

But now he wants his wards to have a “back to square one” mentality in the second round firing off this weekend.

“But I told them that by next game, we’ll look at our standings 0-0. This way we’ll avoid getting too relaxed. For us, it’s 0-0 come the second round.”

UE bounced back from a 0-2 start by rolling past their next five opponents capped by a thrilling 63-62 win over Adamson University last Sunday courtesy of Wello Lingolingo’s buzzer-beating bank shot.

But the biggest win of the Red Warriors in the stretch was when it tripped defending champion De La Salle University, 75-71, last 22 September.

The victory — its second straight after hurdling rookie-laden Far Eastern University to end a two-game slide — fueled UE’s amazing run that equaled the longest win streak of the squad established in 2014.

The Red Warriors would then beat National University, Ateneo de Manila University and Adamson for their best start in 17 years since the then Paul Lee, Marcy Arellano and Mark Borboran-led squad swept the eliminations of Season 70.

Despite an early slump, Santiago maintains that he never doubted the capability and determination of his men led by hardworking big man Precious Momowei, Lingolingo, Ethan Galang, Devin Fikes, Jack Cruz-Dumont and John Abate.

“Well, ever since I’ve been telling the boys that this team, I think and I honestly believe can beat other teams. So, it so happened that we had two setbacks — (our first) two games,” he said.

“I believe my players can compete with the rest of the field. And maybe the best thing that happened to us was when we played against the number one team (La Salle) and, luckily, we beat them. It built their confidence,” he added.

“From there, we’re just working hard and braving every challenge that came and will come our way.”

The Red Warriors will get an early test to open their second-round campaign in a rematch with the Green Archers, all raring to avenge the only blemish on their 6-1 record, on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.