PLAYING their final game before the start of this season’s Final Four, the UST Growling Tigers blew their chances of forcing a play-off for the third seeding and avoiding an early showdown with defending champion De La Salle by dropping a 76-69 decision against the UE Red Warriors last September 15 at the Makati Coliseum.
The loss relegated UST to fourth place, giving the Tigers an unlucky draw by facing the Archers next round. A UST victory would have resulted in a play-off between the Tigers and the Warriors for the third spot.
The game was neck and neck in the early goings but the Red Warriors unleashed a barrage of three’s including an 11-2 run, en route to a 47-33 bubble, with 2:19 left in the second period. The Warriors exploded for six three-pointers in the quarter alone, three of those coming from pesky point-guard Paul Artadi.
But the Tigers were able to cut the deficit to single digits courtesy of six straight free-throws from Cyrus Baguio for a 39-47 halftime count.
The Recto-based cagers, however, were determined to snag the second seeding and the twice to beat advantage.
By tightening their defense, UE forced UST to several of turnovers. Warrior Paolo Hubalde made back-to-back steals off lousy passes from UST and converted on both swipes to help the Warriors post a commanding 55-41 lead, with 4:13 left in the third.
But the Tigers made a gallant stand in the fourth as they chopped the lead down to single digits once again, 69-61, after a successful bank shot from Baguio, with 5:03 left in the game.
With the momentum shifting on their side, the Tigers employed sticky defense on UE’s ball handlers, resulting in five straight points courtesy of Jemal Vizcarra’s trifecta and an undergoal stab from rookie Danny Pribhdas to inch closer at 66-71, with 3:05 left to play.
UE’s chief gunner James Yap scored on the ensuing play to keep the Tigers at bay, 66-73, with 2:10 left.
Slotman Alwyn Espiritu scored for UST in their next possession with over a minute left but the Tigers ran out of time as they missed several attempts in the final minute of the game.
Baguio led the Tigers with 12 points while Luanzon and Warren de Guzman posted 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Yap sizzled for the Warriors onece more, finishing with a game high 29 points.
UE’s victory was a sweet revenge of sorts for the Red Warriors. UST beat UE two years ago for the final slot in the Final Four while forcing the Warriors to go into a knockout match with National University last year.
UST Coach Aric del Rosario said that some calls from the referees cost them dearly and breaks of the game dampened their chances of winning the game.
“May mga tawag iyong referee na hindi ko maintindihan. Kung kailan na kami nakakahabol, doon kami tinatawagan,” said del Rosario.
In anticipation of their Final Four match-up with the Green Archers, Del Rosario said that they will still employ the same strategy that they used against the defending champions in their two previous meetings.
Tiger forward Warren de Guzman stressed that they should put more effort in facing the Archers whom they nearly beat in their second round encounter.
“Kailangan doblehin namin iyong effort namin at pagbutihin namin iyong aming ball rotation,” said De Guzman.
Tigers escape squeaker against Tamaraws
With an outright entry into the Final Four on the line, the UST Growling Tigers played heads up and survived a scare from Far Eastern University, escaping with a hard-fought 62-61 victory last September 12 at the Araneta Coliseum to eliminate the Tamaraws and assure themselves of a seat in the next round.
With the Tamaraws leading 48-44 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Tigers wasted no time in unleashing an 8-2 run in the first four minutes of the final canto to go up by two, 52-50.
But FEU’s Jerard Jones had other things in mind as he scored on a lay-up to tie the game. In the ensuing play, Cyrus Baguio was called for his fourth foul with still 5:43 left in the game.
The Tigers regained the lead, 54-52, after a lay-in by Alwyn Espiritu off a drive and dish play by Niño Gelig with 4:38 to play. But Jones continued to wax hot, scoring back to back baskets for the Tamaraws to tie the game at 56-all with 2:21 left in the game.
With the ball back in Tiger hands, the Tigers committed a crucial turnover as Christian Luanzon threw an erratic cross-court pass with two minutes to play. The Tamaraws capitalized on UST’s error with a put-back from Rhagnee Sinco, that gave FEU a 58-56 lead, with 1:30 left.
Although hobbled with foul trouble, Baguio led a final assault for the Tigers as he released a three-point bomb, followed by a fastbreak basket from Derrick Hubalde to push UST up by three, 61-58, under a minute left.
Luanzon was then fouled and made one of his two free-throws with four seconds left to seal the Tamaraws’ coffin. Miranda then hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer for the game’s final count.
UST Coach Aric del Rosario said he employed a strategy of fielding in gunners for UST when FEU was still leading.
“Nagpasok ako ng mga shooters tulad ni Baguio tapos pina-drive ko sila sa loob,” del Rosario said.
Baguio and Espiritu spearheaded the Tigers offense, finishing with 14 points apiece while Luanzon added nine markers. Sinco led the Tamaraws with 16 points.
Tigers clobber Maroons
Meanwhile, raring to bounce back from a sorry loss against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the UST Growling Tigers displayed their old ferocious form as they poured all their frustrations on the University of the Philippines, dismantling the Maroons, 89-83, last September 8 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
With the Tigers holding a 68-63 advantage entering the final canto, the Maroons exploded with an 11-2 salvo in the first four minutes of the quarter, with Toti Almeda scoring six markers in the run, giving the Diliman-based dribblers a 74-70 lead.
But the Tigers were able to regroup after a timeout and displayed their own brand of offense with a 15-2 scoring spree to post a commanding 85-76 lead with 1:03 left in the game.
The turnaround started with back-to-back three-pointers from Niño Gelig and Edsel del Rosario, giving the lead back to the Tigers, 76-74, with 4:58 remaining.
With the momentum back on their side, the Tigers’ defense tightened, forcing the Maroons to take ill-advised shots. An 8-1 blast led by Alwyn Epsiritu, Christian Luanzon and Jemal Vizcarra helped the Tigers post a double-digit lead at 85-75 entering the final two minutes.
The Fighting Maroons tried to keep their hopes alive, but two forced three-pointers from Xavier Nunag and former San Beda High School standout Michael Bravo, and a traveling violation from Almeda with 1:33 to go, dimmed their chances for a comeback.
Vizcarra led the Tigers with 16 markers and Gelig chipped in 15, with 10 coming from the second quarter. Bravo led the Maroons with 19 points.
UST Coach Aric del Rosario said that their run and gun, high-octane offense spelled the victory for the Tigers.
“Noong lumamang sila nung fourth quarter, tinakbuhan namin sila. ‘Yun ang ginawa naming strategy,” said Del Rosario.
The Tigers’ victory virtually eliminated the Fighting Maroons from Final Four contention and kept UST’s chances for a better seeding in the playoffs alive.
