The UST Growling Tigresses captured their first women’s 3×3 title after dethroning the National University Lady Bulldogs, 18-11, in the finals of the UAAP Season 85 3×3 women’s basketball tournament in Calatagan, Batangas on Thursday.
UST head coach Arsenio Dysangco said the team was really hungry to bag the championship title after an “almost” run in Season 84 where the Growling Tigresses settled for silver.
“The girls performed at a level we didn’t expect as a team. After that tumultuous year, lots of hard work we finally bagged a UAAP Championship which means a lot for the program, especially going up against a powerhouse team NU,” Dysangco told the Varsitarian.
“They were able to put aside personal goals and differences and played like a true champion, with grit and heart they, as a group, tackled challenges and overcame them,” he added.
UST was holding a slim one-point lead, 10-9, when reigning women’s 5×5 basketball Most Valuable Player (MVP) Eka Soriano scorched the Lady Bulldogs with five straight points, sealed by a baseline floater to pull away with 3:02 ticks remaining, 15-9.
Lady Bulldog Kristine Cayabyab drained a two-pointer to cut the deficit to four, 15-11, but the Growling Tigresses blasted away with a 3-0 spurt, capped off by Tacky Tacatac’s corner two to seal the win as time expired, 18-11.
Soriano finished with seven points, six assists, and four rebounds, while Tacatac added three markers and five rebounds.
The Growling Tigresses handed NU its first-ever loss, denying its hopes of winning their fourth-straight championship ever since the 3×3 basketball tournament’s debut in Season 80.
Soriano was hailed as the 3×3 MVP, bagging her second individual award for the season.
Comeback season
Tantoy Ferrer, who was the Rookie of the Year in Season 81, returned to the 3×3 scene after recovering from her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries she sustained during the 3×3 semifinal match against the UP Fighting Maroons in the previous year.
Ferrer stated that claiming the championship this season brought closure to the unfinished business she had.
“Ngayong Season 85 3×3, sabi ko sa sarili ko kukunin namin ‘yung dapat nakuha na namin last year… sinabi namin sa sarili namin ni Tacky na, ‘dapat ‘pag umalis na tayo rito (UST), mag-iiwan tayo ng history sa UST women’s basketball,” Ferrer told the Varsitarian.
“Masasabi ko na talagang ito ‘yung Tantoy Ferrer na dating naglalaro noong nagsisimula pa lang siya sa UAAP. Ang laking bagay sakin yung tiwala talaga na binibigay nila,” she added
Ferrer paced UST in the finals with a game-high eight points and 10 boards.
For Dysangco, the return of Ferrer to the hardcourt was a crucial part of the Tigresses’ road to redemption in Season 86.
“We hope we can develop this 3×3 lineup into our Core team for the 86th season. They are the natural leaders of the team and most matured,” he said. “There will be a load of expectations for these players leading a 5v5 team, but as they have shown, they are so much capable of more.”
