WHATTA FEELING!
UE snaps two-year, 30-game losing streak
MO Tanedo delivers at crunch time to help University of the East score a 53-47 victory over Adamson University and stop a two-year, 30-game losing streak in the UAAP Season 89 basketball tournament on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Photograph by Joey Sanchez Mendoza for DAILY TRIBUNE
Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
2:30 p.m. — La Salle vs NU
5 p.m. — UST vs FEU
University of the East (UE) finally tasted sweet victory.
The Red Warriors ended a two-year wait for a win and halted a 30-game losing skid with a hard-fought 53-47 shocker over Adamson University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 89 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Center JM Edoukou drained an all-important putback to give UE a five-point cushion with 18.7 seconds remaining in the low-scoring fourth quarter before Mo Tanedo put the game away with a split from the line with five ticks left.
Red Warriors players celebrated their first win of the tournament as if it ended a 41-year title drought, hugging each other and whooping it out on the court for a victory that won’t change the fact that UE missed the Final Four for the 15th straight season but will definitely bring life back to the embattled program.
“I give credit to these boys. It’s a very, very long time coming. I told them: ‘You just give your heart out’. It’s the way I played back in the day and it’s showing now by giving it all on the floor,” said first year UE head coach Paulo Hubalde, who played for the school from 2000 to 2004.
The Red Warriors ended the league’s second-longest losing streak by beating the school that infamously holds the worst win drought in UAAP history at 35 that ran from 1999 to 2002.
It was UE’s first win since 26 October, 2024, when it defeated National University, 74-58, in the second round of Season 87.
“I’m super grateful for our first win. Credit to my teammates and coaches who made it possible. I’m just so happy we got our first win,” said UE high school product and top gunner Toper Lagat.
Lagat finished with 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals to help the also-ran Red Warriors improve to a 1-10 win-loss record.
Tañedo also contributed 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Edoukou posted 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals in the 19-year-old Ivorian’s best performance of the season.
UE had several chances throughout the season to end its drought, only to fall short in the end.
But this time, the Red Warriors’ defense held on after limiting the Falcons to just three points in the final period on a dismal 1-of-17 shooting from the field.
It tied the second-lowest output by a team in a single quarter in league history. Coincidentally, Adamson also held that mark in Season 77 in the opening frame of its 62-25 loss to the Bulldogs on 30 July 2014.
De La Salle University still holds the all-time record with just two first-quarter points in a 57-50 loss to the Falcons on 20 October 2018.
UE also had a hard time taking the lid off the basketball ring and just shot 2-of-18 from the field in the fourth quarter.
But it was enough to buy the Red Warriors victory.
Lagat gave UE some breathing room, converting two free throws before adding a layup to stretch the team’s lead to 50-44 with 4:24 remaining in the game.
Adamson then scored its lone field goal of the quarter on a three-pointer by Matt Erolon in the last 2:48.
Edoukou extended UE’s lead back to five, 52-47, with his tip-in off a Drew Jimenez miss. He then secured the rebound after Mat Edding missed a layup on the other end in the ensuing possession.
The Falcons had a golden opportunity to move closer with 12.5 seconds left after stealing UE’s inbound pass, but Lance Mangaron missed his wide-open three-point attempt.
Adamson dropped its fourth straight game and remained winless in the second round. The Falcons slipped to seventh with a 4-7 record, falling further behind in the Final Four race.
Manu Anabo led Adamson with 12 points and five rebounds, while Mathew Montebon chipped in 10 points, converting four free throws despite shooting just 2-of-14 from the field.
Nigerian center Precious Jonah missed his second straight game due to a right leg injury, while fellow foreign student-athlete OJ Ojarikre recorded four points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks in the defeat.