There is no sign of bad blood between big men Mike Phillips and Precious Momowei even after back-and-forth poster dunks on each other in La Salle’s win over UE in UAAP Season 87.
It was all love for Mike Phillips and Precious Momowei even as the two big men battled in the paint during La Salle’s 77-68 win over the UE Red Warriors to begin the second round of UAAP Season 87 on Saturday, October 12.
While one might think that the competitiveness was high after both had poster dunks against each other in different parts of the ball game, there was no animosity outside of the court for Phillips and Momowei.
Phillips in particular was able to talk about his excitement of playing against the Nigerian player, which he prepared for mightily even during their rivalry game with UP last week where he faced a similar threat in Quentin Millora-Brown.
“I was grateful for the matchup with QMB. I think that really helped me prepare for another monster like Momowei. I studied his game more and, more than his skill, he really has that grind mindset,” Phillips said as he finished with a double-double of 27 points and 17 rebounds in the La Salle win.
“You could see one game, he played 40 minutes in one game and is averaging 30 minutes. As a big, he’s always active, that takes a lot out of a player. Coming into the game, I had a lot of respect for him, and I knew I needed to bring my A-game to really battle with him.”
And battle they did each time the play went into the shaded area.
La Salle was eager to avenge its first round loss to the Red Warriors, while the latter were adamant to prove that it wasn’t just a fluke.
[RELATED: La Salle bucks rare off night from Kevin Quiambao as Green Archers get revenge on UE]
Their determination to lead their respective teams to the win ended up with a lot of exchanges inside the court. But when the energy went down, it was all about supporting each other after each play.
“Shoutout to [Precious]. Even in the heated moments when we were going back and forth, he was like, ‘Hey, keep going, keep going,’ and ‘You got me, I got you back,’” said Phillips.
“More than the game, it’s just the camaraderie from an energetic guy like him. He really gives me energy as well,” he added.
Phillips also underscored the importance of not getting in the way of their team system due to their individual battles. Even as he was eager to return the favor to Momowei when the UE big man scored a thunderous slam over him in the second quarter, it was still all about getting the win.
Still, it was entertaining to see that Phillips had the chance to return toe favor to Precious, giving him a taste of his own medicine later in the game.
“Momowei every time I go against [him in the] game. He’s such an energy guy. I think puwede kong masabi na siya yung isa sa heart and soul ng UE so. Of course, when he made that play, I really felt the UE crowd,” said Phillips.
“Pero sa akin naman, ‘yung mga tinuturo ng coaches, lalo na si Coach Gian [Nazario] at si Coach Topex [Robinson] in those moments, ‘Wag ka munang magretaliate, ‘wag ka munang lumayo sa sistema just because gusto mong bumawi agad I really just tried to stay on the path. We knew UE would make big plays like that; they were going to make those hand-in-the-face threes. For me, I was just trying to do my best, stay steady, and focus on the next play,” he added.
After Millora-Brown and Momowei, Phillips now has UST’s Mo Tounkara to think about next as the Green Archers go to battle against the Growling Tigers on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in their next game.