MANILA – University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers survived a late uprising by University of the East Red Warriors for a 76-67 victory in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Leading by as many as 27 points in the first half, the Growling Tigers saw their lead cut to as low as five points at 64-69 on five straight points by Red Warriors’ Jack Cruz-Dumont.
Nicael Cabañero responded with a three-point play to increase the Growling Tigers’ lead back to 72-64, before Christian Manaytay and Cabanero sealed the victory with two free throws each.
Cabañero finished the match with a season-high of 27 points to go with eight rebounds and one assist, while Angelo Crisostomo and Manaytay added 14 and 10, respectively, as the Growling Tigers improved to a 6-7 record, still at fourth place.
“’Yung mga players hindi bumigay until the end, naging consistent kami, medyo siyempre meron din masasabing runs sila eh, pero kami naman we are just focused,” UST head coach Alfredo “Pido” Jarencio said in a post-game interview.
“Important din ‘yung players na nagpakita sila ng aggressiveness, ‘yung desire, tsaka nagkaroon sila ng pride sa game, especially sa remaining games namin, kasi ‘yun ang magdi-dictate if makakapasok kami sa Final Four,” he added.
Cruz-Dumont finished with a season-high of 19 points, while Wello Lingolingo and Devin Fikes added 13 and 12 markers, respectively, as the Red Warriors suffered their third straight loss to drop to a 6-6 win-loss card.
Meanwhile, Janrey Pasaol delivered a career performance as Far Eastern University Tamaraws prevailed over the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, 65-54, to stay in the hunt for a Final Four spot.
The former FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws standout finished with a career-high of 14 points to go with seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals as the Tamaraws improved to a 5-8 win-loss slate.
Mo Konateh contributed a double-double of 11 points and 21 rebounds to go with two blocks and a steal, while Rojan Montemayor finished with 10 markers, including some crucial free throws in the endgame, for FEU./PN
BOX SCORE:
UST 76 – Cabañero 27, Crisostomo 14, Manaytay 10, Padrigao 7, Tounkara 7, Danting 5, Paranada 3, Pangilinan 2, Llemit 1, Acido 0, Estacio 0.
UE 67 – J. Cruz-Dumont 19, Lingolingo 13, Fikes 12, Maga 9, Momowei 6, Wilson 3, Spandonis 3, Malaga 2, Galang 0, Abate 0, H. Cruz-Dumont 0, Mulingtapang 0.
Quarterscores: 22-11, 48-28, 60-45, 76-67.
