THE UST Growling Tigers have played most of the first round without their 6-foot-9 Senegalese import Adama Faye, who last played on Oct. 7 against De La Salle University, dealing a massive blow to their offense and defense.
However, UST’s 68-62 victory over the FEU Tamaraws showed that other Tigers can step up their game to fill the void left by Faye, who only played for a total of 11 minutes in two games as he has been recuperating from his back injury.
UST assistant coach Japs Cuan said he trusts that the Tigers can do the job and bounce back in the second round.
“Ever since naman noong first round, hindi naman kami nag-make excuse na wala si Faye,” Cuan said in a post-game presser. “Kung sino ‘yung nagpa-practice sa amin, kung sino ‘yung available, tiwala lang kami. Regardless if he’s gonna be there or not, nagtitiwala kami sa mga players namin.”
UST shot 41.5 percent from the field (27/65) and grabbed 53 boards against FEU’s 43. Tigers Miguel Pangilinan, Angelo Crisostomo and Kenji Duremdes, scored nine, eight, and seven points, respectively, while tallying a total of 23 rebounds.
Cuan credited the Tigers’ newly formed bond for the performance, which he said was crucial as the team has tasted nothing but defeat in the last 19 games.
“This game, we had a good start kasi for the past six games lagi kaming naiiwanan eh,” he said. “Masarap ‘yung feeling kasi after a long time we won. Credit to the boys. They really gave it all. Nagsama-sama kami so ‘yung bonding nila it helps.”
At the end of the first round, team captain Nic Cabañero led the league in scoring, averaging 20.57 points per game (ppg) on 47.78 percent two-point field goals (FGs) and 32.26 percent three-point shooting.
Behind him, UST wing Christian Manaytay averaged the league’s sixth-best 13.86 ppg built on 49.12 percent two-point FGs, and grabbed team-best 7.29 rebounds per game. Veteran shooter Pangilinan and rookie big Crisostomo also anchored the offense with averages of 9.57 ppg and 6.86 ppg, respectively.
Manaytay, who had a double-double performance in the win, said that stepping up is everyone’s responsibility, especially for veterans like him and Cabañero.
“Feeling ko lang I just need to do my job kasi ‘yun lang ang kailangan naming gawin as a team. Kasama ko naman si Nic sa pag step-up,” Manaytay said.
However, UST’s defense suffered in the first round with Faye’s absence, as it garnered the league-worst record in points allowed per game at 86.57 points with 35.43 points coming from points in the paint and 34.86 points from the perimeter.
The Tigers also averaged the league-low 40.43 rebounds and 2.43 blocks per game, while allowing 14.57 second-chance points.
UST has faced high-caliber imports and bigs in UAAP Season 85 reigning MVP Malick Diouf and Rookie of the Year Kevin Quiambao as well as Ateneo’s twin towers Joseph Obasa and Kai Ballungay. In UST’s match against FEU, the Tiger forwards guarded 6-foot-11 Mo Faty, who tallied seven points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks in 17 minutes of playing time.
Faye’s return is still indefinite but UST will make an announcement about it soon, said Cuan.
“Kailangan talaga mag step-up ng mga bigs namin — si Echo (Laure), si (Angelo) Crisostomo, at si (Thirdy) Esmeña,” Manaytay said. “Sinasabi lang namin tayo na lang ang natitirang big dito. Wala na tayong kakapitan. Wala na tayong aasahan. Ilaban na lang natin ‘to.”
Despite the win, Cabañero, who scored a game-high 23 points, stressed that much work needs to be done as the Tigers head into the second round with a league-worst 1-6 win-loss record.
“Trabaho ulit and let’s see what adjustments we need to make, and continue to show our ‘Puso, Pride at Palaban,’” Cabañero said. “It’s been a long time na wala kaming panalo eh. Para ma-feel rin namin kung gaano pala kasarap ‘yung manalo. I do hope na mag-continue ito sa second round.”
The Growling Tigers will start their second-round campaign against the DLSU Green Archers on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 11 a.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena.
