By MARK REY MONTEJO
University of Santo Tomas fended off Far Eastern University’s late surge and hacked out a 92-80 win to notch its third consecutive win in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday, Oct. 15.
After the Tamaraws knotted the count at 68-all, with eight and a half minutes remaining, the Growling Tigers produced their own run — a vicious 23-12 attack — through the red-hot shooting of Kyle Paranada and Nic Cabañero to finally seal the deal.
With the win, the España-based squad secured a share of the lead with National University at 5-1, while FEU suffered its second straight loss for a 1-5 card.
Paranada topscored for UST with 19 points on top of two rebounds, four assists, and one steal, while Cabañero and Gelo Crisostomo added 14 points apiece.
“That triple overtime win against Ateneo really boosted us up and the coaches helped us and motivated us to push our limits this game despite our sloppy start. It’s all about team effort this game,” said Cabañero
“I think it was a team effort [and] we just came back from a triple overtime, so the coaches kept reminding us it’s gonna be a tough game no matter how many losses FEU has,” Paranada added.
Collins Akowe, for his part, posted a double-double outing of 12 points and 11 rebounds with two assists, one steal, and four blocks, even as Forthsky Padrigao scored 11 points.
The Tigers’ bench also rose to the occasion as they conspired for 35 points againstFEU’s 14.
Janrey Pasaol and Mo Konateh unloaded 22 and 19 points, respectively, but were not enough to lift the Tamaraws to victory. Kirby Mongcopa and Jorick Baustista also registered 11 points apiece in a losing cause.
Meanwhile in women’s action, UST continued to impress as it went five in a row with a 104-66 demolition of FEU.
The Tigresses were dominating from start to finish and didn’t let the Lady Tamaraws go ahead throughout the match to clinch an immaculate 5-0 record at the top of the standings.
Karylle Sierba stood out for the Haydee Ong-mentored crew with 21 points and four rebounds, while Kent Pastrana and Gin Relliquette added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Amyah Espanol powered the Lady Tamaraws with 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals, and two assists, while MJ Manguiat scored 11. With its loss, FEU fell to 2-3 to build a three-way tie with Adamson and University of the Philippines.
The scores:
Men’s basketball
UST (92) – Paranada 19, Cabañero 14, Crisostomo 14, Akowe 12, Padrigao 11, Llemit 7, Buenaflor 6, Danting 6, Acido 3, Estacio 0, Calum 0, Bucsit 0, Manding 0, Bangco 0, Sevilla 0, Laure 0.
FEU (80) – Pasaol 22, Konateh 19, Mongcopa 11, Bautista 11, Owens 8, Daa 3, Felipe 3, Salangsang 3, Jones 0, Macapagal 0, Ona 0, Bagunu 0.
Quarterscores: 25-21, 46-47, 63-62, 92-80.
The Scores:
Women’s basketball
UST (104) – Sierba 21, Pastrana 15, Relliquette 14, Maglupay 11, Santos 7, C. Danganan 7, Soriano 6, Ambos 6, Dajao 5, Onianwa 4, McAlary 4, Bron 2, Pineda 2, Serrano 0, Pescador 0, K. Danganan 0.
FEU (66) – Espanol 18, Mangiuat 11, Abatayo 7, Lopez 5, Pasilang 5, Salvani 4, Nagma 4, Patio 4, Villanueva 4, Dela Torre 2, Garavan 2, Agcambot 0.
Quarterscores: 33-20, 57-37, 81-55, 104-66.
