UST import Peter Osang shined in his Filoil EcoOil 17th Preseason Cup debut, towing the Growling Tigers past the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 63-52, for their second-straight win at the Filoil EcoOil Centre on Monday, May 27.
The 6-foot-7 center finished with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, along with 12 rebounds, a steal, and a block. Before the game, the Tigers had been fielding Hinda Tounkara as their import in their first three FilOil matches.
UST improved to a 2-2 win-loss record, while Ateneo remained winless in the tournament after two games.
“We need to just keep on improving and yung chemistry, binubuild namin,” UST head coach Pido Jarencio said postgame. “We have options [as imports], maganda and deep yung team namin heading into the UAAP.”
Osang sealed the Tigers’ second straight win in the tournament with a dunk, 63-52.
Pinoyliga MVP Leland Estacio’s three-pointer capped the Tigers’ 15-4 run in the fourth quarter to mount a 13-point lead over Ateneo with 3:26 left, 61-48.
The Tigers outclassed the Blue Eagles in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 17-8.
UST held Ateneo to single digits in a low-scoring second frame (13-8) to eke out a three-point lead at the half, 31-28.
With UST holding a four-point lead, 18-14, two straight triples from Andrew Bongo and Lebron Nieto allowed Ateneo to grab a two-point advantage, 20-18.
UST’s defense held Ateneo to a 25-percent shooting clip (17-of-66), while the Tigers shot an efficient 47 percent from the field (26-of-55).
The Tigers dominated Ateneo in paint points, 40-20.
Estacio tallied 11 points and two rebounds, while Ice Danting chipped in six markers.
Forthsky Padrigao struggled offensively in his first game against his former team with three points on 1-of-9 shooting but chipped in six rebounds and a game-high six assists.
Andrew Bongo paced the Blue Eagles in the loss with 11 points and four rebounds, while Chris Koon and Kristian Porter tallied eight points a piece.
The UST Growling Tigers will next face the UE Red Warriors at the same venue on Saturday, June 1, at 9 a.m.
