THE UST Growling Tigresses kept their title hopes alive in the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) championship after overcoming the Pilipinas Aguilas, 69-64, in Game 2 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, April 20.
The win marked UST’s first against the pro-squad across three games in the tournament, setting up a winner-take-all clash for the inaugural WMPBL title, scheduled for Wednesday, April 23, at 5 p.m.
The Tigresses set the tone in the opening quarter, building a seven-point edge, 15-8.
The Aguilas cut the UST lead to one in the second quarter, 21-20, but the Tigresses retaliated with a 13-4 run, capped by a Rachelle Ambos 3-pointer, to push the cushion back up to 34-24.
Elaine Etang then rallied the Aguilas to chip away at UST’s lead, which was trimmed to 37-33 by halftimr.
Clinging to a two-point lead after an Alexis Pana 3-pointer, 42-40, UST used a 12-6 run, punctuated by a Pastrana basket, for an eight-point gap heading into the final period, 54-46.
Ambos, Karylle Sierba, and Eka Soriano then mounted an early surge in the fourth quarter, which gave the Tigresses a 10-point cushion, 61-51.
UST sustained its advantage en route to the five-point victory, 69-64.
UST foreign student-athlete Isioma Onianwa paced the Tigresses with a near double-double performance of 17 points and eight rebounds. Ambos had 13 off the bench, while Sierba chipped in 12.
Kent Pastrana, who was named to the WMPBL Mythical Five before the game, struggled with eight points on 2-for-8 shooting.
Pana led Aguilas in the loss with 17 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while Etang delivered 14 points and six rebounds.
