THE UST Tiger Cubs missed the last semis spot after a 72-65 loss to the De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers in the UAAP Season 79 juniors’ basketball tournament at the Arena in San Juan Thursday.
CJ Cansino buried five consecutive free throws to help UST cut the deficit to seven with a little over five minutes left in the game. But La Salle scored six straight points to put its lead back to double digits, 70-57.
The Cubs countered with a 6-0 run before a crucial Cansino turnover in the 44-second mark quashed any hope of a comeback.
“Ang naging problema natin, merong mga easy shots, easy opportunities tayo kaso nagkaroon ng errors kaya hindi na nakabalik,” UST head coach Chris Cantonjos told the Varsitarian.
Despite grabbing 55 rebounds compared to the Junior Archers’ 41, UST buried only 20 of its 69 field goal attempts.
Roberto Mariano led La Salle with 17 points while Jan Gabriel Sobrevega chipped in 14 points.
Cansino led UST with a double-double performance of 17 points and 12 rebounds. Outgoing Tiger Cubs Miguel Ratuiste and CJ Balingit had 11 apiece.
La Salle led by as much as 17 points with 3:40 left in the second quarter after Mariano hit a long two pointer, 36-19.
Even though plenty Cubs have exhausted their playing years, Cantonjos is optimistic that the team’s experience has made them stronger.
“Siguro ‘yung mga bata na makakalaro next year, na-feel nila na ganito pala matalo, especially ‘yung Final Four na ganito kasakit,” Cantonjos said. “Tatatak sa utak nila na kailangan pang mag-work hard.”
