THE UST Tiger Cubs faltered in their UAAP junior high school (JHS) basketball tournament opener against the FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws, 75-63, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Sunday, March 10.
The game marked the start of the inaugural JHS basketball tournament, which is exclusive to players under 16 years old.
Baby Tamaraws Pat Pasinos (22 points and 19 rebounds) and Jhared Gutierez (12 points and 12 rebounds) led FEU-D to the victory with their double-double performances.
Lorenzo Cinco paced the Tiger Cubs with 22 points, six rebounds, and a steal, while Kiyam de la Cruz scored 14 markers to go along with eight boards and two dimes.
UST eked out a three-point lead after the first quarter, 17-14.
In the next two frames, the game remained tight with both teams going neck-to-neck in the second (21-21) and third (15-15) quarters.
However, the Baby Tamaraws pulled away in the decider with a 25-10 run to pin the Tiger Cubs down and notch a 75-63 win.
FEU-D’s reserves scored 32 bench points, outperforming UST’s starting players, who only scored 19 markers in total.
UST shot a poor 26 percent from the field, converting only 20 of 77 attempts.
The JHS tournament is a demonstration sport and will not be counted for the UAAP general championship tally.
The Tiger Cubs will next face the Adamson Baby Falcon on Saturday, March 16, 1 p.m. at the Adamson University Gym.
