Sept. 25 2016, 8:37 p.m. – THE UST Growling Tigers fell short in a furious fourth-quarter rally as the National University Bulldogs escaped with a 75-68 win in the UAAP Season 79 men’s basketball wars at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
Down by as much as 25 points in the third quarter, UST went on a 22-6 blitz to come within seven, 64-71, with 1:11 left in game.
But all hopes were extinguished as UST’s Marvin Lee fouled Jayjay Alejandro from the three-point line with 53.2 ticks left.
Alejandro swished two of his three foul shots to seal the game.
The Bulldogs, who improved to 3-2, now share the second spot with Adamson University. UST slipped to sixth place with a 2-3 card.
“Tamad ang depensa noong first half. Unlike our previous game against UP na maganda ang depensa sa buong laro. First half pa lang, pabaya na. Ayaw magsipag,” Tigers head coach Boy Sablan said.
Louie Vigil had a game-high 17 points on top of five rebounds and two assists. Jamil Sheriff added 16 markers, seven boards, and three steals.
William Afoakwah made his presence felt for UST with seven points, 15 boards and two blocks.
Alejandro paced the Bulldogs with 16 points while Matt Salem contributed 14.
UST shot an atrocious zero-of-14 from three-point range and missed 11 of its 23 free throws. Philip Martin L. Matel
