MANILA, Philippines -- After a winless campaign in Season 84, the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors have already exceeded all expectations in their ongoing UAAP campaign.

The Red Warriors have won three games in UAAP Season 85, including a momentous upset of De La Salle University. Their 3-4 record puts them in contention for a spot in the Final 4 as the tournament heads to its second round.

Jack Santiago, UE's second-year head coach, acknowledged that they have already recorded a "big achievement" by winning three games in the first round but hopes that his players will still remain hungry.

"Coming from 0-14, it's a big achievement for us already. But of course, sabi ko nga sa mga boys na we cannot be satisfied with the three wins," Santiago said on Sunday.

"I don't want my players to be complacent [and think that] we have three wins already, or we achieved enough," he also said.

Making UE's record all the more impressive is that they are the only team in the UAAP without a foreign student-athlete, and Santiago is proud of his players for proving that they can keep in step with the league's powerhouses despite that disadvantage.

"Kung tutuusin, kaya talaga nilang mag-compete. Kahit na walang mga import. Sinasabi nila na we are the only team na walang import and yet nakaka-compete. Tama 'yun," the coach said.

"But I don't want the boys to realize 'yun eh. Baka 'yun ang sabihin eh. 'Anyway, three wins na kami.' Pwede pa namin, kaya pa naming maka-four, maka-five [wins]," Santiago added. "Every game, we're gonna push our teams to win."

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The Red Warriors had beaten Far Eastern University and the University of Santo Tomas, and given defending champion University of the Philippines all it could handle before coming up short in the end game.

But they were dealt a harsh 91-76 loss by Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday evening in Antipolo, with the cagers from Katipunan limiting the Red Warriors to just six points in the pivotal third quarter to break the game open.

"Sabi ko sa mga boys, if you want to be a Final 4 team, ito ang kailangang ma-overcome, teams like this," Santiago said of their game against Ateneo. "We had a good second quarter but coming to the third quarter, maybe we had some lapses offensively and also on defense."

The loss to Ateneo was the second straight for UE, following an 84-77 defeat to the Fighting Maroons. Though they enter the second round with a losing streak, Santiago believes the Red Warriors have more to show and can continue pulling off surprises.

• GAME RECAP: Ateneo pulls away from UE for fifth win

"Kaya naman namin. I think kaya naman ng mga bata na maglaro," said Santiago, who hailed his newcomers such as Luis Villegas, Gani Stevens, and Calvin Payawal for their contributions to the squad.

"Hopefully, in the second round, we've learned our lessons and my boys will adjust sa system ng laro ngayon. So, hopefully we will have a good second round," he added.

UAAP Season 85 is streaming on iWantTFC every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, available for Premium users outside the Philippines.

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