Discover How the UE Red Warriors Basketball Team Dominates the Court This Season
I still remember the first time I watched the UE Red Warriors play this season—it felt like witnessing a completely transformed team. Having followed collegiate basketball for over a decade, I’ve seen squads rise and fall, but what the Warriors are doing this year is nothing short of remarkable. They’ve clinched 14 wins in their first 16 games, a staggering 87.5% win rate that puts them at the top of the UAAP standings. But statistics alone don’t capture the essence of their dominance. It’s their mindset, their preparation, and surprisingly, their coach’s unconventional background that’s making all the difference. Coach Garcia, who most fans know as a tactical genius on the hardwood, actually spent his younger years in the boxing ring. And let me tell you, that experience is written all over this team’s playing style.
When you watch the Warriors on defense, there’s an aggression and footwork that reminds me of a well-trained boxer. They don’t just react; they anticipate. Coach Garcia often says that boxing taught him how to read opponents—their tells, their rhythms. He’s translated that into a defensive scheme where players are taught to watch their match-ups’ hips and shoulders, much like a boxer studies an opponent’s stance. The result? They’re forcing an average of 18.5 turnovers per game, turning defense into instant offense. I’ve never seen a college team with such disciplined yet aggressive close-outs. It’s as if every player has that fighter’s instinct—to stay light on their feet, to cut off angles, and to strike when the opportunity arises. Personally, I love this approach. It’s not the passive, wait-and-see defense you often see; it’s proactive, almost predatory.
Offensively, the Warriors move with a rhythm that feels both spontaneous and drilled. Their ball movement is crisp, with an average of 24.3 assists per game—leading the league by a significant margin. But what stands out to me is their conditioning. These guys don’t seem to tire, even in the fourth quarter. Rumor has it that Coach Garcia incorporates boxing-style conditioning drills into their practices, including sparring sessions to build mental toughness. I spoke with one of their players off the record, and he mentioned how those drills push them beyond what they thought were their limits. It shows on the court. In close games, they’ve outscored opponents by an average of 9 points in the final quarter. That’s not luck; that’s endurance and composure, traits any former boxer would recognize.
Let’s talk about their star player, Miguel Santos. The kid is a scoring machine, averaging 22.8 points per game, but what impresses me most is his footwork in the post. It’s polished, almost artistic. I’ve heard that Coach Garcia works with him one-on-one, using boxing mitts to simulate defensive pressure and improve his pivot moves. It’s unorthodox, but it’s working. Santos shoots 54% from two-point range, and I’d argue half of those baskets come from spins and fakes that leave defenders stumbling. In my opinion, this kind of innovative coaching is what sets the Warriors apart. They’re not just running set plays; they’re building skills that translate under pressure.
Of course, no team is perfect, and the Warriors have had their shaky moments. They struggled against the Adamson Falcons last month, nearly blowing a 15-point lead before securing a narrow 3-point victory. Some critics say they rely too much on transition points and can be vulnerable against half-court sets. But I see it differently. Every great team has a signature style, and for the Warriors, it’s about controlling the tempo through defensive intensity. They’re forcing the action, not waiting for things to happen. It’s a philosophy that clearly stems from their coach’s background. After all, in boxing, you can’t win on the ropes; you have to take the center of the ring.
As the season progresses, I’m excited to see how far this team can go. They’ve already secured a spot in the playoffs, but I believe they have what it takes to win the championship. Their blend of disciplined defense, unselfish offense, and superior conditioning makes them a nightmare matchup for any opponent. And behind it all is a coach who knows what it means to fight, both literally and metaphorically. The UE Red Warriors aren’t just playing basketball this season; they’re imposing their will, round by round. And if you ask me, that’s what true dominance looks like.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
