Dribble Report Exclusive: A Chat with UE head coach Jack Santiago
In a remarkable upset, University of the East stunned the defending champions De La Salle University Green Archers by narrowly defeating them, 75-71, in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Arena Sunday evening, September 22.
The Red Warriors gave La Salle their first loss of the season as they delivered a scorching hot shooting of 12-of-30 from downtown witnessed by 6,946 spectators inside the arena.
In an exclusive interview with Dribble Report, UE head coach Jack Santiago shared the contributing factors that led to their team's victory.
"I think our teamwork played a very important role in our win against La Salle. Our players played unselfish basketball and everybody showed heart, and to me that’s what led us to winning the game," Santiago said.
He also shared the adjustments and preparations they made before facing the defending champions that propelled them to their success.
"We changed match ups and as a team we agreed that we needed to have a strong start. Playing against the defending champions, we made sure that we spent extra time learning their game and made sure that we are ready come game day," shared by the winning coach.
The plan came into fruition when UE stepped on the gas early and built a 28-11 lead in the first quarter of the play.
Although the Red Warriors had a strong start, they still felt the challenge thrown by the Green Archers led by reigning UAAP Season 86 MVP Kevin Quiambao backed-up by his partner, Michael Philipps. However, the wards of coach Jack never wavered and found ways to overcome the obstacle including the suffocating defense of their opponent.
Asked about the challenges, the UE mentor said: "Of course, their full court press will always be a challenge playing against La Salle. As a team it is something that we really spent time working on at practice. We made sure to learn how to break their defense and that we do well on ours too."
The win might be a big one for the Red Warriors and it's something that they can be proud of, but coach Santiago remained grounded and that's what he appreciated about his team.
"What I love about this team is that they are very humble kids. I always tell them that in times of victory, they should always keep themselves grounded," Santiago complimented the attitude of his players.
Their victory also delighted the basketball enthusiasts and thought that they might go a long way this season with the stellar play they showcased on Sunday paced by the career-game of John Abante who scored 20 points while firing a perfect 3-of-3 behind the arc, grabbing four rebounds, and sinking two-crucial free throws with 3.4 seconds left to complete the upset.
But again, Coach Jack wanted to stay on the ground as it is still early to tell and there are a lot of things to work on before they can finally reach their goal of entering the final four, or even grabbing the championship ring.
"It’s too early to say but, of course, every team is looking to be in the final four. Obviously, it’s not going to be a piece of cake. We still have to work very hard to make sure that we are on the right path and are following our system to ensure that we reach our goals this season," he told Dribble Report.
Coach Jack and the UE Red Warriors might be wary of a lot of things but their huge win last weekend, which also marked their second straight victory of the season, can become the stepping stone in reaching the top of their goals and surely earned the respect of all other teams.
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Jayson Castro scored 16 points and made an immediate impact in his first game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.
TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.
Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.
Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.
The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.
With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.
The game was the last of the year for both teams.
TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.
Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.
"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.
"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.
Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11.
The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.
PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.
San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.
After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.
However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team.
Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.
The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.
The Scores:
Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0.
Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62.