Rampaging Warriors prove doubters wrong, clinch finals berth

University of the East rookie coach Lawrence Chongson felt vindicated Thursday when his Red Warriors proved doubters wrong to complete their mastery over the Far Eastern University Tamaraws via a 78-72 win in their do-or-die Final Four match at the Araneta Coliseum. “I’m humbled. I haven’t got any respect pero hindi ko naman hinihingi ‘yun. Maraming non-believers pero that’s the least of my concern right now. It’s about me and my team and our fans," said Chongson, who was seen weeping while receiving a congratulatory hug from team manager Alfonso “Achit" Kaw as the final buzzer sounded.

“Warrior will lang talaga," said Chongson, who replaced Dindo Pumaren before the start of the season. UE crushed FEU’s twice-to-beat edge when it scored an 84-74 win in the playoff opener. The Tams are already hurting after missing ace guard Mark Barroca, who was dropped from the team’s roster days before the Final Four match on allegations of game fixing. “It’s the game of our lives. I told my veterans if they want this game to be their last game. We kept on believing in our game plan and defense," Chongson added. UE, the third seeded team after ending the elimination round with a 10-4 card, were up against the No. 2 ranked FEU, which only needs to win once in order to earn a finals date with defending champion Ateneo. The best-of-three title series between Ateneo and UE, which enter the finals riding on separate winning streaks, will feature the league’s two hottest teams since the defending champions Blue Eagles has won 11 straight dating back from the first round while UE has not lost a match since suffering an 80-75 setback at the hands of the Katipunan-based dribblers on Aug. 13. It will be the Warriors' second finals appearance since the league adopted the Final Four format in 1994. UE earned an automatic finals berth in 2007 after sweeping its 14 elimination round games but lost the title to La Salle, which was coming back after serving a one-year suspension from the league. The 2009 finals will also be a rematch of the 1987 championship showdown between both squads in which the Danny Francisco-led Blue Eagles won. Ateneo successfully defended the title when they won again during the 1988 season. The last time the Warriors won the title was during the time of PBA legends Allan Caidic and Jerry Codinera in 1985. UE will be the underdogs in the best-of-three title series – which begins on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum – after Ateneo swept them in the elimination round, 72-57 on July 16 and 80-75 on Aug. 13. It was a sorry loss for FEU coach Glenn Capacio whose Tamaraws were ranked as the team that would thwart the Eagles’ back-to-back title hopes. “Masakit," said FEU coach Glenn Capacio. “Nasaktan ako na ginawa ang best ng mga bata pero kinapos. Kulang kami sa rotation on defense. We could not contain Paul Lee on defense kaya nahihirapan kami." – GMANews.TV