THE UST Growling Tigers crumbled late and succumbed to the Petron-Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 101-114, in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig Thursday.
UST fell to second place behind a 4-1 win-loss record, while Letran improved to fourth place with a 4-2 card.
Down 93-98 with five minutes left in the payoff period, the Knights unleashed a furious 21-3 rally, capped by a Renato Ular breakaway jam to seal the victory.
“We have to play better defense, lalo na sa wing. Right now we’re still on the stage of building the system, pero we always want to prioritize defense. We got outhustled,” Tigers head coach Aldin Ayo said.
Letran edged out UST in bench points, 60-32.
The Knights also outscored the Tigers in second chance points, 23-13.
Jerrick Balanza scored a game-high 34 points off the bench for Letran, while Alvin Pasaol tallied 27 markers.
Chabi-Yo had a double-double outing of 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Brent Paraiso added 17 markers.
The Tigers will try to bounce back against McDavid on April 29, Monday, 2 p.m. at the Jesus Christ Saves Global Outreach Gym in Cubao.
