UE gets back on winning track in round 2 of UAAP Season 87 as the Red Warriors send NU reeling to a third straight loss.
The UE Red Warriors sizzled in the second half to run away with a blowout win over the NU Bulldogs, 74-58, for their second-round encounter in UAAP Season 87 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, October 26.
After a lengthy layoff, UE got right back into the win column after its five-game win streak was stopped by the DLSU Green Archers two weeks ago. The Red Warriors improved to 6-3 with the bounce-back win.
Buoyed by a burst of offense from Wello Lingolingo, UE pulled away late in the third quarter as the Warriors ended the period with a 13-3 run, taking a 53-35 lead into the fourth.
In the pivotal run, which came as the Bulldogs threatened to come back down only eight points, 32-40, Lingolingo scored eight of UE’s 13 markers.
Rainer Maga capped off UE’s 25-11 quarter with a buzzer-beating jumper, carrying the surge of momentum to the fourth period.
During the final quarter, UE was at its most dominant as the Red Warriors extended their lead to as many as 23, 69-46, after a Lingolingo bucket with 4:22 ticks left.
NU hardly threatened after that as the Red Warriors relied on the steady presence of foreign student-athlete Precious Momowei’s 17 points and 17 rebounds, pouncing on the absence of an NU FSA.
But while Momowei was dominant, it was an all-around team win for UE that had six players scoring at least five points in the convincing victory.
Lingolingo had an efficient game of 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, coupled with five rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block.
Meanwhile, Ethan Galang was the other UE player in double digits with 12 points. He also had four rebounds, and one steal.
Tebol Garcia topscored for NU in the losing effort with 12 markers. NU fell to 2-8, now losers of three straight games.