A quiet revolution with the UE Red
Warriors
by rick olivares
There’s a quiet revolution going
on at the University of the East.
The sick man of the UAAP, the
deposed and exiled kings of the hardcourt, are making another go at it. This
time with a new coaching staff with zero University of the East blood are
giving the once fabled program a transfusion of blue, green, and red – well, of
the San Beda variety – blood.
That news is hardly going to stop
the presses. They’ve heard this song and dance number before. A new coach – a
returning King Warrior – looking to reclaim lost glory. In fact, one coach of
from a NCAA league squad decried their poor culture.
You will get no argument from any
of the UE coaching staff. They know the Herculean challenges which is an
understatement.
On this day, Monday, July 16, the
excitement is brewing. At least from within.
Leon Lorenzana has decamped from
UST and is looking to make his move to UE.
There’s a Fil-American from Minneapolis trying out. A couple of former Ateneo
Blue Eagles in John Apacible and Brix Ramos are there. The coaching staff is
happy with the recruits they picked up but who will have to serve a year’s
residency before suiting up. And just a few weeks ago, several players from a
nearby UAAP rival have inquired about transferring.
So it can’t be all that bad,
right?
During drills, inconceivably, the
fundamentals of many players are bad. Terrible even. So you wonder what kind of
skills training they got. In fact, last year’s UAAP Juniors champion, the Ateneo
Blue Eaglets is more skilled. And that isn’t an exaggeration.
The problem of a team in disarray
and with players departing for other schools (after a row with their former
coach who accused them of all sorts of things) is their court of last resort is
to play hero ball. Sure you get great individual performances. The question is…
do they translate into wins?
However, during the recent Filoil
Flying V Preseason Cup, other players stepped up. Center-forward Rey Acuño is
one. Chris Connor, Jason Varilla, and rookie Jojo Antiporda gave a good account
of themselves.
UE finished 3-6 in their Filoil
play. They were ranked 15th among the 19 squads that participated.
On the average, they gave up more points than they scored. So they have their
work cut out for themselves.
“There’s a lot of work that needs
to be done,” notes assistant coach Ton Brodett. “We will surely see the results
not this coming season but in the next. Of course, we hope to perform better in
the upcoming UAAP tournament.”
“It’s okay,” assures new head
coach Joe Silva. “We don’t mind flying under the radar.”
The team huddles at center court
of the UE Gym. Silva and his coaches discuss the preparations for an upcoming
trip to Taiwan this August where the Red Warriors are participating in the BK
Squad International Invitational Tournament.
The last time the Red Warriors
took a trip abroad to train was some nine years ago and Paul Lee was still in
uniform. The funny thing is… half that team went while the other half stayed.
Talk about dysfunction.
Paolo Romero, who played under
Silva in Ateneo (after which he went to UP for college), is quite happy to hear
how the players have responded to his training program especially since he
played against many of them in both high school and college. “I think if you
show them something and they understand how it benefits them, they take to it
quickly,” bares Romero.
Like a sponge.
For veteran point guard Philip
Manalang, he admits he was quickly over the coaching change. For six months, there
was no announcement about who was to be their new coach. There was speculation
that he’d leave and instead play commercial along with incumbent star, Alvin
Pasaol. But with the new staff, Manalang quickly embraced the new coach and the
new system. “Madali ko nakuha,” he says. He also assures he fill exhaust his
playing years with UE.
Ric Gallardo who had a promising
career with Perpetual Help before the internal craziness forced him to leave
was worried that he jumped from the frying pan and into the fire. But now, he’s
happy. He just hopes to get an opportunity to show what he can do.
For John Apacible, after Ateneo,
he was supposed to go to Lyceum but UE – Silva – called. And now, he hopes to
resurrect what was once a promising career. “New challenge,” he simply puts it.
Second chance. Apacible nods.
And for UE, that’s all there is.
Another chance to get it right and to return to their rightful place in college
basketball’s hierarchy. Hopefully, this time around.
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