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They missed the finals. Again. But the 67th season of the UAAP is UE Red Warriors' best finish to date.
Doomed by naysayers even before the final lineup has been drawn up, the Warriors proved them wrong and became this season's biggest surprise package.
Coach Boysie Zamar, the dynamic duo of Paul Artadi and James Yap, and the whole starting lineup with Jay-Arr Estrada, Arnold Booker, and Ollan Omiping now all gone, spelled trouble with a capital T.
Rookie coach Dindo Pumaren, a former DLSU Green Archer and one of the finest point guards ever to grace the PBA, knew when he took the job that it wasn't going to be easy. He set a long term goal and targeted season 69 for the team to reach its full potential. How very wrong he was. His team is peaking sooner than he expected.
Paulo Hubalde who didn't see much action in the previous season is now the Warrior's best offensive option. Nino Canaleta realized his true worth and showed everybody he really knew his basketball. RJ Masbang can now play the post effectively. Roberts Labagala has improved a lot and thanks to a longer playing time is more confident than before.
The rookies also did not disappoint the new coach. Marcy Arellano is probably the most consistent scorer of the team, living up to expectations as he was once a Juniors MVP. League insiders are looking at him as the next Yap. Raymond Leyga, another prized recruit from UST High School got injured early in the tournament but showed great promise in his first senior game. Rommel Dizon is the epitome of hard work. He seems to always be at the right place at the right time. Earn Saguindel is an Artadi clone, if not more. Just watching him play can be pretty tiring. He's a joy to watch, ask Boom Gonzales.
The team had a slow start confirming pre-season predictions. Slowly but surely they got their game going. First big victim was the ADU Falcons, a pre-season favorite to make the final four. The loss to UE sent the Falcons back to earth and started losing games from then on. The DLSU Green Archers was a fitting first round of eliminations closing treat. Coach Dindo hopefully had a good dinner courtesy of brother Franz. Then came the ADMU Blue Eagles, their winning streak came to an abrupt halt and spotless record tarnished, the UE Red Warriors was proclaimed the league's giant slayers. Thanks to a choking defense on LA Tenorio, currently the league's best point guard, as he went scoreless the entire game and at a post-game interview, still didn't know what hit him. That was some form of reality check for the Blue Eagles and unfortunately for the Warriors, theirs came not long after that. A streaking UP dealt them a sorry loss and sent a message to the whole UAAP community - they were the real giant killers. They managed to win six straight after going 0-6 in the first round until Coach Franz Pumaren said enough is enough.
With NU, UST and ADU out of the semifinal race, the Warriors found themselves in the running for a Final Four slot with UP trailing them. But blood will always be thicker than water, and inspired by a plot as interesting as last year's championship series, Coach Franz gave everyone something to talk and write about. The idea of a Pumaren versus Pumaren in the UAAP finals. The Green Archers shot down UP's Final Four aspirations and paved the way for UE's easy march to the semis. To borrow Coach Franz' words, it was just like laying the red carpet for UE's entry to the Final Four.
And as if to return the favor and following a Pumaren family script, Coach Dindo and the Warriors lost their last game against Coach Franz and the Green Archers. It gave the Archers a shot for a playoff for the number two spot. Unluckily for the Warriors, they found themselves squaring off in the semis with a team they failed to win against in the eliminations, the defending champions FEU Tamaraws. And the rest as they is history.
Coach Dindo before the start of the season said, "We may not have the talent of other UAAP teams but we'll be working hard. It's an exciting team. We might play the spoiler and pull off surprises."
And they did.
It has been a great season for the team. They have nothing to be ashamed of even if they failed to clinch a finals slot. Making the Final Four is an achievement in itself. One should not forget the fact that this is an entirely different team from last year's celebrated squad. They have overshoot their target. Not bad for a team who was predicted to finish at number seven.
Veterans Paulo Hubalde, Nino Canaleta and RJ Masbang won't be around anymore next year but they survived the exodus of superstars this year with convincing results, didn't they? They proved that even if they're a young team they can rise up to the challenge that is UAAP basketball.
They will just have to work hard in the off-season. Evaluate and learn from their mistakes. Focus on the small things that went unnoticed but had the biggest impact on their game. Weaknesses should be addressed and the players' mental maturity be strengthened.
Coach Dindo, along with elder brother Derrick and the rest of his coaching staff, definitely started on the right foot. It is just a matter of keeping on the right track.
After the Hail Mary team of the Blue Eagles in season 65, due ironically to Gec Chia's end game brilliance against this Recto-based squad, Coach Franz Pumaren has now taken to calling the Red Warriors the miracle team of the league.
They finished at number four this season down from number three last year. But every year offers a different story. They had a good run despite the odds. Next year is another challenge, they promised to be back. With a vengeance.
Players and coaches come and go but the team lives on. After all, Warriors will always be Warriors.
