THE TIGER Cubs went cold in second half and yielded to NCAA Juniors’ runner-up San Sebastian Golden Staglets, 61-82, in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Secondary Schools Basketball Championship at the Chiang Kai-shek College last Nov. 25.
With the absence of reliable scorers Prince Martin, Nicko Bahia and big man Vaughn Soriano, Isaiah Dandan steered the Cubs with game-high 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Down by 19 points in the fourth quarter, Tiger Cub Paulo Corre completed a three-point play to cut the lead to 16, 51-67
But a disoriented offense and defense foiled the squad’s comeback efforts, allowing San Sebastian’s Alfren Gayosa and Rhanzel Yong to ignite an 8-0 run and jack up the lead, 75-51.
“This is quarterfinals but the priority is still school. It’s something that we couldn't avoid,” said coach Allan Ascue, who missed the services of his three player due to academic commitments.
Pocholo Loor topscored for San Sebastian with 14 points, including consecutive fastbreak points, which gave the Staglets an 18-point cushion, 60-42, in the third canto.
In its last game in the elimination round last Nov. 18, UST bowed down to Hope Christian High School (HCHS), 57-73.
Alvin Ungria racked up 14 points for UST, while Clint Doliguez finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds for Hope, which will face the Letran Squires in the semifinals.
The Tiger Cubs finished with a 2-2 win-loss card, defeating UAAP runner-up National University Bullpups, 72-63, and Colegio de San Juan de Letran Squires via overtime, 69-69, last Oct. 27 and 28, respectively.
Box scores:
UST 61 – Dandan 19, Corre 9, Berduo 8, Laman 7, Borje 7, Abuyen 5, Baetiong 2, Ungria 2, Ramirez 1, Lavarias 1, Mayor 0, Syyap 0.
San Sebastian 82 – Loor 14, Macasaet 11, Velasco 11, Calisaan 10, Gayosa 10, Navarro 9, Yong 8, Magno 2, Gatdula 2, Causon 2, Santos 2, Malamug 1, Miasco 0.
Quarter scores: 14-17, 34-44, 48-66, 61-82
