The result was not unexpected. UE is a veteran team, and is expected to crowd FEU and Ateneo for top honors. Paul Lee showed why he is regarded as one of the premier guards by slicing through the Archer defense to deliver several drop passes to the UE bigs for gimme shots under the basket. Fortunately for us, UE did not perform much better, missing several easy shots and making almost as many errors. But the Warriors settled down in the 3rd quarter to win comfortably.
Given the current composition of the team, a final 4 appearance is probably realistic, but I wouldn’t count on much more. The rookies are now being exposed to the much tougher environment of the UAAP, and some jitters, uncertainty, and errors were to be expected. Franz gave the rookies ample playing time, and the veterans didn’t get too much floor time. The offensive patterns of the Archers were still not smooth, several blown passes, travelling errors, hurried or carelessly taken shots. Charge it to the learning curve of this young team. Setting records has never been Franz’s cup of tea, and the 46 points scored today will be forgotten in the overall scheme of things.
In everything, there’s an upside. Today’s game was kinda ugly, but the team can’t play much worse than this. They will learn, get better, and start showing why they’re expected to be a contender in a couple of years. In the next games, we’ll probably start seeing flashes of the brand of Archer ball that we’re used to.
It’s still early in the season, no need to panic. Let’s enjoy the growth and development of this team. It is exciting to watch, sometimes frustrating, but once it gets its act together, will be something to watch. In the meantime, let’s sit and enjoy the ride. And cheer them on.
