THE UST Tiger Cubs nailed their third straight win after a 75-62 blasting of the De La Salle Santiago Zobel Junior Archers in the UAAP Season 86 boys’ basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
With UST down by five early in the first quarter, 14-9, Joaquin Ludovice scored eight points in UST’s late 10-2 surge to eke out a three-point lead at the end of the frame, 19-16.
The Tiger Cubs sustained their momentum until the second quarter, pulling away with a 16-8 run capped by a JB Lim reverse layup, 35-24.
However, La Salle’s trio of Maco Dabao, Andrei Pabellano and Bonn Daja responded with a quick 9-4 spurt to trim UST’s lead to six at halftime, 39-33.
UST sizzled with a 15-8 blast to open the second frame, widening its lead again to double digits 54-41.
However, La Salle’s Kieffer Alas and Dabao drained back-to-back triples to trail by seven heading into the payoff period, 54-47.
The Tiger Cubs held La Salle to a 21-15 fourth quarter to seal the deal and grab their third straight win.
“Masaya kami dahil nakatatlong sunod kami na panalo,” UST head coach Manu Inigo said postgame. “Pero pa rin kami satisfied… Kailangan pa namin pagtrabahuan talaga.”
With the win, UST maintained its hold of the second seed with a 3-1 win-loss record, tied with Nazareth School of National University and only behind the undefeated and league-leading Adamson University.
The Tiger Cubs’ bench scored 42 points in the win.
UST had five players in double-figures. Dungo paced the Tiger Cubs with 13 points and five assists, while Koji Buenaflor chipped in 12 points.
Lim had an all-around performance of 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and eight steals, while Carl Manding and Wacky Ludovice had 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Alas led La Salle with 27 big points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The Tiger Cubs will try to maintain their winning ways as they next face University of the East on Saturday, Dec. 9, 8 a.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena.
