After the first round of eliminations, University of the East is sitting pretty atop the leader board with an immaculate 7-0 win-loss record. Easily disposing of the also-ran Adamson University Falcons in their last first round game 95-70, the Warriors are looking sharp and ready to claim their first ever UAAP Men’s Basketball Crown since 1985. 22 years ago the dynamic duo of sharpshooter Allan Caidic and defense minister Jerry Codinera, combined to give UE its last UAAP caging diadem.

Since then the men in red have run into tough times. The last time they were even in the Finals was 1989, against the powerful De La Salle varsity of Jun Limpot and company. The Red Warriors then were bannered by another dynamic duo: dynamic swingman Ferdinand Ravena and versatile forward-center Joselito Escobar. Against the wall-to-wall All Stars of La Salle that year however, UE would come up short.

UE holds the longest championship streak in the UAAP, winning seven straight basketball crowns sometime in the late 1960’s up to the early 1970’s during the time of Philippine basketball legends like Sonny Jaworski and Jimmy Mariano. But that, quite literally and figuratively, seems like eons ago. After the last glory years of the 1980’s, the 1990’s saw the Red Warriors fall on hard times in terms of winning games.

Although they were never short on talent except for one or two years in the very early parts of the 1990’s, UE just could not seem to find the consistency needed to return to their former championship glory. Top players like Brothers Braulio and Dennis Lim, Vic Villarias, Ernie Quidilla, Mar Morelos, Aldwin Manubag, Ruel Buenaventura, Omar Ali Liban, Jojit Durmendes, Jumbo Cruz, Wowie Ibanez, Gerald Ortega, Jun Catalan, Leo Vilar, Bobby Diloy, Julius Sotto, Owen Del Rosario, Don Paclibare, were all part of the UE lineup of the 90’s at one time or another. Experienced coaches like Mariano, Francis Rodriguez, Rodel Dalupan, Roel Nadurata and many good assistants have handled the Red and White varsity.

These Warriors ruled off-season tournaments like the Fr Martin Cup, going through some tough competition that included a Letran team that still had PBA MVP Willy Miller, Paclibare’s favorite charity on the defensive end. It is mind-boggling to think that with that kind of talent and that kind of coaching that UE never really made any championship noise in that time. And it seemingly remained that way up to the early part of the latest decade.

2002 saw UE once again coming oh so close to a Finals showdown and a rematch against the team that last beat them in a UAAP championship. But George Chia and the Ateneo Blue Eagles had other plans that year as the unheralded guard single handedly shredded the Warriors’ championship dreams with a dagger of a buzzer beater. What made it worse was that UE actually held a twice-to-beat edge. The specter of futility and frustration renewed its ghastly appearances for the boys from CM Recto. The triumvirate of KG Canaleta, James Yap and Paul Artadi just didn’t seem enough.

But now there is a new UE team that seems to have come right out of the ashes, one that fights and plays with renewed fire in its gut and strength in every move it makes on the court. There aren’t any more MVP-level superstars on this team in the mold of Yap, nor spectacular All Star Dunking Contest fixtures like Canaleta. But these Warriors are winning and winning big. After a summer of dominating performances UE has just completed an amazing first round sweep of Season 70.

True they had some close calls against Ateneo and National University, but for the most part their seven-game rampage has been, well, a rampage. They opened their Season 70 campaign with a drubbing of defending champion Santo Tomas University. Their last three victories all came via a margin of at least 20 points, including ones over university belt rival Far Eastern University and the returning De La Salle University. Their wins over State University and Adamson might as well have been scrimmages.

The high octane offense of UE has thus far overshadowed the fact that they still play one of the toughest defenses in the league. Do not let the high opposing scores fool you: in terms of blocks, steals, cutting off passing angles and stopping a variety of offenses, UE ranks among the best. Their versatile personnel can match up very well against any kind of lineup. And with their size and athleticism, Coach Dindo Pumaren has more options and combinations to choose from than a kid at a Baskin Robbins.

Of course the real challenge now is to make it all the way to the Finals. Historically UE has never done well in a Final 4 match-up. As noted by TV Panel commentator Mark Molina, perhaps the best bet of UE to make the Finals is simply to sweep Round 2 as well and thus dispense with any kind of Final 4 scenario. For all of the might they have displayed they are also among the leaders in terms of turnovers, both forced and unforced. Sometimes a team can get too good and start fooling about instead of simply going for a quick and decisive kill. Against relatively weak but very well-coached Ateneo and NU teams UE almost crumbled in the dying minutes and seconds, exposing the fact that they still find it difficult to execute against smart and determined teams. And in the high pressure second round they can expect every one to want payback awful bad, especially the contenders they blew out.

This is where the mettle of these Warriors will be truly tested; this second round will be their own Hot Gates and Thermopylae. Whether they go with a bang or a whimper, whether they finally claim the prize or once again fall just short however will be totally up to them.