The UST Junior Growling Tigresses may have lost key members of last season’s championship core, but they are leaning on the continuity of their program to fuel another title push in UAAP Season 88.
The program, which has captured championships in every UAAP girls’ basketball season so far since Season 82 in 2020, has consistently produced standouts such as former MVP Barby Dajao, Janna Wenceslao, and Grachelle Boteros, all of whom played crucial roles in the Season 87 campaign.
However, with those players having graduated, UST is now turning to a mix of new and returning contributors — most notably Riri Perez, Katrina Insoy, and Lea Pinuela — to sustain the program’s winning tradition, according to head coach Sen Dysangco.
“The team is a different animal, but the same beast,” Dysangco told the Varsitarian.
“[Insoy and Pinuela] know how to lead and be part of the team. So, it was really easy. They smoothed the transition of the new members to our team.”
The Junior Tigresses will also welcome a new wave of talent, highlighted by Palarong Pambansa standout Denise Calig-Onan, Indonesian one-and-done Mabekou Talla, and Zia Kallos, the younger sister of Season 87 juniors MVP Zane Kallos of Ateneo.
Adopting the senior team’s “run-and-gun” approach, the Junior Tigresses ended last season atop the league in multiple statistical categories, including a 28.23% clip from 3-point range and a potent transition attack that generated 41.17 fastbreak points off 23.5 steals per game.
That stylistic alignment with the collegiate Tigresses, who claimed the Season 88 crown, has pushed Dysangco to emphasize fundamentals as his players continue to develop physically.
“Actually, noong buong Christmas vacation, we were really trying to improve on our run and gun game. Kasi mga bata pa sila, so number one ‘yong body nila, hindi pa sound, hindi pa matured enough,” he said.
“So, all we can do is just try to teach them ‘yong pinaka-basic lang, ‘yong pagiging efficient lang. And ginagawa natin is always repetitions; let them grow into their shots and have confidence sa tira nila. Hopefully pagdating sa upcoming UAAP tumaas naman ‘yong ating percentages.”
Beyond immediate success, the program is also focused on long-term sustainability, aiming to develop players who can contribute not only to UST but also to other programs and leagues beyond the UAAP and even outside the Philippines.
“We believe there is room for improvement. We believe that the program is still a work in progress; we can still improve on a lot, especially in efficiency,” Dysangco said.
The Junior Tigresses will begin their Season 88 title defense against the DLSZ Junior Lady Archers on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Playtime FilOil Centre.
