THE UST Growling Tigresses have proven themselves to be a top-tier team in the UAAP Season 86 women’s basketball tournament, and head coach Haydee Ong has attributed the team’s success to getting contributions from every player.
The Tigresses bench came up big in their 93-67 drubbing of the DLSU Lady Archers on Oct. 9. The win propelled them to second in the standings with a 7-2 record before the league took a one-week hiatus.
UST’s second unit scored 59 points in the win, while the starters contributed 34 points.
Ong expressed her satisfaction with the balanced scoring of the Tigresses in the win, with five players including three reserves recording double-digit performances.
“This is what we wanted—scoring output for UST is distributed,” she said. “Kailangan nakaka-develop ka ng mga potential players para continually lumalakas ‘yung team mo.”
Tacky Tacatac came off the bench for the fourth time this season and recorded 17 points to lead the Tigresses in the win against DLSU. Reserves Brigette Santos and Tantoy Ferrer had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Rachelle Ambos and Kent Pastrana had 11 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the starting unit in scoring.
As of October 29, UST has achieved the highest average in bench points in the league, with 39.67 points per game (ppg), surpassing the starting five of the Tigresses who have posted an average of 39.22 ppg.
Additionally, out of the 14 players on the Tigresses’ roster, 11 have participated in all nine of UST’s games to date.
Ong credited UST’s grassroots program for the bench’s impressive performance and steady production. She said the Tigresses will rely on their bench strength as they strive to secure a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.
“I think ‘yan ‘yung mga ingredients talaga dapat for you to have a successful program,” she said.
The Tigresses, who are on a four-game winning streak, will next face the top-seeded National University Lady Bulldogs.
“Ito ‘yung parang momentum namin going to the NU game…because NU has a deeper bench. Kailangan namin talaga everybody magtulungan,” Ong said.
“I think we’re peaking at the right time and hopefully, ma-sustain namin itong second round until sa Final Four. Hopefully, ‘yung mga scouting report and game preparation namin for next week, magawa namin, and hopefully, mas maganda ‘yung result compared with the first round.”
Pastrana and Ferrer are leading the Tigresses in scoring with 18.56 ppg and 12.78 ppg, respectively. Season 85 MVP Eka Soriano is averaging only 6.0 ppg but is leading the team in assists with 5.33 per game.
Ong said there is still room for improvement as some new players have yet to bloom and showcase their skills. Case in point: UST’s 6-foot-2, 19-year-old big Awa Ly, who has recorded modest averages of 0.78 points and 1.44 rebounds per game in about 5.3 minutes per contest.
“At the end of the day, it’s how Awa can blend in with the system and work and help with us,” Ong said. “So, whatever she can contribute to the team, we will be happy and accept that with her role right now.”
The Growling Tigresses will next face the top-seeded NU Lady Bulldogs on Sunday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena. Bjorn Del B. Deade
