13 September
2014, 5:26 p.m. – THERE is no place like home.
The UST Growling Tigresses made
full use of their home-court advantage en route to an impressive 74-63 win over
the Adamson University Lady Falcons to book a Final Four berth in the UAAP
Season 77 women’s basketball tournament at the Quadricentennial Pavillion on
Saturday.
UST led by as much as 24 points
and finished the eliminations at 8-6, tied with the Far Eastern University Lady
Tamaraws for third place.
Despite only three field goals
in the fourth quarter, the Tigresses were able to hold off the Lady Falcons who
cut the UST lead down to nine, 68-59.
Tigress Kristine Siapoc buried
the dagger three-pointer from 30 feet in the last two minutes while Lore Rivera
sealed the win from the charity stripe in favor of the UST.
“Ang game kasi natin, once na
malamangan natin ‘yung kalaban, tuloy-tuloy na,” UST head coach Chris Cantonjos
said.
Cantonjos added that their
offense was sparked by their solid defense, which was on full display from the
opening tip until the final buzzer.
“Nakita nating lahat, may humahabol
sa bola, may naiiwan, may nagpe-pressure, pero they make sure na humahabol pa
rin pag dating sa five-man defense,” he said.
The Tigresses opened up a
24-point lead in the third quarter, 55-31, courtesy of a 9-0 run led by center
Maica Cortes who dominated the paint.
Cortes led the UST charge with a
double-double, finishing with 24 points and 14 rebounds while Lore Rivera had
19 markers and 9 boards. Siapoc added 13 for the playoff-bound Tigresses.
UST will have to wait for the
result of the finals rematch between defending champion De La Salle University
and National University to find out what kind of playoffs will transpire.
If the Lady Bulldogs win, they
will sweep the eliminations and earn a thrice-to-beat advantage in the finals
and the Tigresses will face the Lady Tamaraws in the first round of a knockout
stepladder semifinal.
Should the Lady Archers prevail,
a traditional Final Four will occur with UST at a twice-to-beat disadvantage. J. D. G.
Saynes
