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UE center Precious Momowei during a game against NU in UAAP Season 87.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

With University of the East’s (UE) chances of returning to the Final Four of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament getting bigger as Season 87 rolls along, every movement of the Red Warriors in every game matters.

And the Red Warriors are holding each other accountable, with a rare spat between teammates Precious Momowei and John Abate in the second quarter of UE’s dismantling of skidding National University, 74-58, on Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena, showing just how much they want to achieve their goal.

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“Honestly, [the minor altercation was] nothing serious,” Momowei said after pouring in another double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds to bolster the Warriors. “I was just trying to bring him up. I was trying to make him focus on the game. It’s all love. Nothing serious.”

UE shrugged that off come the second half, protected the ball better and slowly pulled away to establish a comfortable lead, as the Warriors improved to 6-3 for a firm hold of third spot, just below defending champion La Salle and University of the Philippines.

More importantly, UE has a wide lead over fourth-running University of Santo Tomas, which is at No. 4 with a 4-6 record, with Adamson, Far Eastern University and Ateneo, which is battling bitter rival Green Archers at press time, all holding 3-6 records.

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And so it’s understandable that emotions may come up high for the Warriors, but it’s all because they want to achieve the same thing.

“That’s my brother. We’re gonna fight, that’s what siblings do,” Abate said. “We’re two competitive and intense people. We just ultimately wanna win.

“In the third quarter, we came back stronger for the victory. He made a big play, I made a big play and then we made up for it,” Abate went on. “I love it because if you have someone that’s holding you accountable, it’s iron sharpens iron. It’s gonna make you better and make him better.”

If everything works out for UE, it would be a big achievement for coach Jack Santiago’s program, as the Warriors last made the semifinals in 2009.

Santiago also sees the spat as something to push each Warrior up.

“He’s the one who calls attention of his teammates that he thinks are not performing well,” Santiago said. “So, I’m very happy.” INQ