May 24, 2015, 11:20 a.m. – THE UST Growling Tigers succumbed to the Centro Escolar University (CEU) Scorpions, 77-82, in the 2015 FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at the Arena in San Juan Saturday.
Despite huge performances from Ed Daquioag and Kevin Ferrer, UST obviously missed missed the services of center Karim Abdul as the Scorpions pounded the paint led by Alfred Batino who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Daquioag and Ferrer combined for 60 points but no other Tiger cracked double digits. In contrast, the Scorpions showcased a balanced offense with six of their players scoring at least 10 markers.
“Hindi complete [ang] players kaya hindi nabubuo ‘yung team. Tiyaga-tiyaga lang ginagawa namin. Kung sino ang nandyan, ‘yun yung pinagpa-practice. Pagbalik ni Karim, mayroon na tayong tao sa gitna,” said UST head coach Bong dela Cruz as the Growling Tigers dropped to 2-3 in the pre-season tournament.
In the third quarter, the Tigers seemed to have found their way on offense as Ferrer delivered a barrage of three-pointers for a 15-4 UST run and a 52-47 lead.
But CEU answered with a 17-5 blitz to regain control and never looked back.
UST will try to bounce back against he Lyceum of Philippines University on May 27, 11:45 a.m., at the same venue. Delfin Ray M. Dioquino
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BOX SCORE:
UST 77 – Daquioag 34, Ferrer 28, Lao 6, Lee 3, Bonleon 3, Sheriff 2, Kakonda 1
CEU 82 – Batino 20, Ebondo 13, Casino 12, Anunciacion 12, Celso 10, De Leon 10, Abundo 5
Quarter scores: 20-13, 37-40, 57-63, 77-82
