The Varsitarian

18 May 2013, 5:43 p.m. - THE UST Growling Tigers started slow and never got going as they absorbed a 68-85 beating against the University of the East in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan Saturday afternoon.

Tigers' head coach Pido Jarencio opted to field second stringers Kim Lo, Paolo Pe, Robert Hainga, and Robin Tan - with only Jeric Teng as the veteran - at the start of the tournament he repeatedly called a "tune-up."

"I am making the final selection for the UAAP," Jarencio said. "I am utilizing all the players to see who can and cannot be lined up [in the UAAP]."  read more »

16 May 2013, 10:40 p.m. - THE ATENEO de Manila University finished off the UST Lady Spikers in two games to enter the finals of the Shakey's V-League tournament.

UST missed the finals for the first time in 10 years after losing Game 2 of the semifinal encounter versus Ateneo , 13-25, 25-23, 23-25, 13-25, at the Mall of Asia Arena Thursday evening.

Maika Ortiz led UST with 14 points while Carmela Tunay added 10 markers. Guest player Jeng Bualee led the way for Ateneo with a game-high 22 points.  read more »

14 May 2013, 5:41 p.m. - THE UST Lady Spikers started strong but lost steam in the end as Ateneo took Game 1 of their semifinal encounter, 25-20, 15-25, 27-29, 14-25, in the Shakey's V-League at the Philsports Arena Tuesday afternoon.

UST was impressive in the opening frame with a balanced attack and tight floor defense, but faltered in the succeeding sets. Maika Ortiz topscored for UST with 13 points. Guest player Aiza Maizo led UST in the nail-biting exchange in the third set with 10 points.

Alyssa Valdez carried load for the Lady Eagles with 25 points, while Thai reinforcement Jeng Bualee, who just suited up for Ateneo in the semifinals, added 19 markers. read more »

13 May 2013, 2:14 a.m. - IS THERE finally a Catholic vote?

The 2013 elections mark the first time Catholic lay groups banded together to aggressively push the “prolife” agenda by endorsing candidates and educating Catholic voters.

An alliance of around 50 lay organizations called the “White Vote Movement” endorsed 10 candidates for senator last April in a bid to “protect family and life,” following last year’s passage of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Law, which seeks billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money to promote artificial contraception, sterilization and sex education nationwide.  read more »

12 May 2013, 11:15 p.m. - Daisy Hontiveros-Avellana, the “First Lady of Philippine Theater,” died Sunday morning due to a lingering sickness. She was 96.

Avellana, who was proclaimed National Artist for Theater in 1999, was an acclaimed thespian, writer and director, with a career spanning theater, radio, television and film.

She is best known for her lead role of Candida Marasigan in the stage adaptation of Nick Joaquin’s “Portrait of the Artist as Filipino” in 1955. Avellana reprised the role in the 1965 film adaptation of Joaquin’s portrayal of life in the dying days of Old Manila.  read more »

11 May 2013, 8:31 p.m. - CLARK Bautista came up big down the stretch and scored the game-winning basket as the UST Growling Tigers pulled off a come-from-behind 78-77 win against Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at the Arena in San Juan Saturday afternoon.

With 3.7 seconds left in the game, Bautista faked a three-point attempt against Letran bigman Raymond Almazan then drove along the left baseline for an easy layup. Letran's Mark Cruz missed his jumper in the final possession as UST notched its third win in five games.  read more »

11 May 2013, 8:25 p.m. - THE UST Tigresses went through the eye of the needle before scoring a 66-60 victory against the College of Saint Benilde in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan Saturday afternoon.

Marian Mejia, who ignited a 9-0 surge in the last frame to help UST pull away, led the Tigresses with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Janine Ong added 13 markers for UST, which overcame a 40-36 Benilde lead heading into the last period.

Jen Mayol paced the Lady Blazers with 19 markers and 11 boards. Ralph Joshua D. R. Hernandez  read more »

10 May 2013, 6:04 p.m. - ALJON Mariano exploded in the fourth quarter as the UST Growling Tigers turned back the San Sebastian College, 83-79, in the Filoil Flying V Pre-season Premiere Cup at The Arena in San Juan Friday afternoon.

Mariano dropped 13 points in the final frame, including two key buckets down the stretch, to give UST its second win in the summer tournament.

Mariano paced UST with 23 markers and six boards, while slotman Karim Abdul and Clark Bautista chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively.  read more »

09 May 2013, 10:25 p.m. - MAIKA Ortiz erupted anew to carry UST Lady Spikers past NCAA defending champion University of Perpetual Help System-Dalta, 21-25, 25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 15-11, in the Shakey's V-League at The Arena in San Juan Thursday evening.

Ortiz dropped six of her 23 points in the deciding set as UST remained undefeated in three outings heading into the semifinals. Up next for the Lady Spikers is Ateneo de Manila University.

The semifinals is set on May 14, 2 p.m., at the Philsports Arena.  read more »

08 May 2013, 12:45 p.m. - SAN BEDA High School used a strong second quarter to rout the UST Tiger Cubs, 100-75, in their Filoil Flying V Pre-season Premier Cup encounter at The Arena in San Juan Wednesday morning.

The Red Cubs, the reigning NCAA juniors champion, broke the game open with a 21-6 run in the second frame and posted a lead as high as 36 after halftime.

Ice Dandan and Rean Berdijo paced UST with 19 and 15 points, respectively, and combined for 9-of-18 from the three-point area that kept the Cubs in the game early. Javee Mocon led the Red Cubs' balanced attack with 17 points and 9 rebounds.  read more »