University of the East (UE) dethroned inaugural division champion National University Nazareth School (NUNS), 85-64, to punch its ticket to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 junior high school basketball tournament finals on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

UE’s championship opponent remains hanging in the balance, however, as third-ranked University of Santo Tomas (UST) lived to fight another day, disarming Far Eastern University-Diliman (FEU-D) of its twice-to-beat advantage, 84-75, to keep its championship hopes alive.

The Junior Warriors will enter the championship round with fiery momentum as UE won 14 of its last 15 outings. Their lone loss of the season came at the hands of the Baby Tamaraws with an 81-66 beating last 24 November.

After bowing out in last year’s Final Four to FEU-D in an overtime thriller, UE finally booked its ticket to the division’s championship round.

“The boys executed our game plan. I couldn’t ask for more,” Junior Warriors head coach Andrew Estrella said.

“They stuck with the game plan from the first quarter, then in the second quarter, we started to gain the lead. I told the boys that we need to stay consistent from first to fourth quarter and that’s what they exactly did.”

After two free throws by Chester Tulabut trimmed NUNS’ deficit to 34-25, Mav Mesina uncorked 13 points to power UE’s 20-11 second quarter surge, gaining a commanding 54-36 lead at the half.

Back-to-back triples by Jolo Pascual and Mesina sent the Bullpups down a 21-point hole with 7:48 left, further solidifying the Junior Warriors’ finals ticket and their dominance over NUNS.

UE defeated NUNS in both elimination round matches with an average winning margin of 19 points.

Mesina led the Junior Warriors’ charge with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go along with five assists, three rebounds, and three steals, while Pascual contributed 12 points, three rebounds, and one steal.

Jared Ferreros chipped in 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Neil Garcia and Gab Delos Reyes scored 11 points each to complete UE’s five double-digit scorers.

The Tiger Cubs did not only disarm the Baby Tamaraws of their twice-to-beat incentive, but UST also put an end to FEU-D’s six-game winning streak. Coincidentally, it was the Tiger Cubs who last defeated FEU-D with a come-from-behind 76-75 win in their second-round opener last 16 October.