The UST Growling Tigers fell short against the Jinino Manansala-led Adalem Construction- St. Clare
Saints in their do-or-die matchup in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup quarterfinals, 90-87, at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
Kean Baclaan and Michael Pangilinan scored five unanswered points to put UST in front early in the fourth period, 62-59.
The Saints answered with a 12-0 blast to take a commanding nine-point lead, 74-63, with 6:39 left in the game.
UST responded with a 24-13 run capped by a Baclaan layup to cut the St. Clare lead to three with 15 seconds left, 90-87.
St. Clare committed a last-minute turnover to give the Tigers a chance to send the game to overtime, but Baclaan missed his game-tying three-point attempt t.
Despite being outrebounded by one, 44-43, St. Clare outscored UST in paint points, 46-30. Thirty-two of UST’s 67 field-goal attempts were from beyond the arc
St. Clare’s bench also outscored UST’s, 30-11.
Nicael Cabañero registered 19 markers and 6 boards for UST. Baclaan had 17 points and 4 rebounds.
Johnsherick Estrada led St. Clare in scoring with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Gab Gamboa, John Rojas and former Tiger Joshua Fontanilla scored 12 points each.
The Tigers started their Aspirants Cup run with four-straight losses but won their last three to qualify for the playoffs.
With their elimination, they will now focus on the FilOil Preseason Cup.
