The UST Tiger Cubs collapsed late, going scoreless in the final four minutes of overtime to fall to the UE Junior Warriors, 107-102, in the UAAP Season 88 boys’ basketball tournament on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Playtime FilOil Centre.
In overtime, UST led 102-97 after a Simon Pulongbarit free throw before UE closed with a decisive 10-0 run to complete the comeback.
The defending champion Tiger Cubs remained winless at 0-2, while the Junior Warriors improved to 1-1.
“Nakipagbakbakan naman kami, talagang breaks of the game lang at napunta ‘yong game sa kanila sa dulo,” UST head coach Manu Iñigo told the Varsitarian postgame. “Mahaba pa naman ang season. We just need to win our first game and we will see what will happen from there.”
Joaquin Ludovice led UST with 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting but was held scoreless in overtime. Pulongbarit added 24 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Leading 14-11, the Tiger Cubs pulled away with a 12-3 run to extend their cushion to 26-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Momentum shifted to the Junior Warriors in the second period as Ethan Aguas knocked down two free throws to pull UE within two, 41-39. Ludovice and Pulongbarit responded to keep UST ahead at halftime, 50-46.
Clinging to a slim 59-58 advantage, the Tiger Cubs went on a 9-0 surge capped by a Jetlee Malano layup to restore a double-digit lead, 68-58. UE answered with a rally to briefly grab a 72-71 lead, but Ludovice buried a buzzer-beating triple to put UST back on top, 76-74.
In the fourth quarter, Ludovice scored six straight points to push the Tiger Cubs ahead, 84-79. UE responded with an 8-2 run to regain the lead, 87-86.
Sizco Roquid drilled a jumper to give UE a 95-93 lead with 17.9 seconds remaining in regulation before Pulongbarit tied the game with a hook shot to force overtime, 95-all.
Kirk Cañete opened overtime with a 4-point play, and Pulongbarit followed with an and-one conversion to give UST a five-point edge. From there, UE seized control as the Tiger Cubs struggled to find the basket down the stretch.
Malano finished with 20 points, while Canete added 13 in the loss.
Roquid paced UE with 26 points, while Aguas posted 18 points and 15 rebounds.
The Tiger Cubs were whistled for 30 fouls, 10 more than the Junior Warriors. UST shot 8 for 18 from the free-throw line, while UE went 32 for 41 from the stripe.
“It’s really hard to win if you give up 107 points at dapat hindi umaabot ng ganyang kataas. So, we really have to step up our defense and hit our free throws,” Iñigo said.
The Tiger Cubs will next face the Adamson Baby Falcons on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Blue Eagle Gym. Joaquin Edgardo Cortez
