The UST Growling Tigresses repulsed the Adamson Lady Falcons, 73-66, in their second-round encounter at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Sunday to move closer to the UAAP Final Four.
Adamson’s late 8-3 rally trimmed UST’s lead to five, 68-63, with 2:04 time remaining in the final frame. But Joylyn Pangilinan nailed a triple to give Tigresses an eight-point lead, 71-63.
MVP frontrunner Eka Soriano made the finishing touches after forcing a turnover and converting off a fastbreak play, 73-63.
The Tigresses led by as much as 17 points in the third quarter courtesy of Agatha Bron and Pangilinan’s triples. The Lady Falcons were able to trim their deficit to 11 after the third quarter.
The Tigresses overcame a sluggish first quarter to end the first half shooting an efficient 41 percent from the field, sinking 10 out of their 25 attempts. After being down by six in the first period, the Tigresses led by 10 at halftime.
Pangilinan paced UST with 17 points, while Soriano scored 17 markers.
Adamson’s Victoria Adeshina chalked up 18 markers, while Rose Diampos tallied 16 points.
The Tigresses’ three-point shooting improved to 40.7 percent (11 out 27) after going through a slump in the first two second-round games, where they only converted a combined five out of 47 triples.
UST improved to an 8-2 standing, while the Lady Falcons dropped to 3-7 slate.
The UST Growling Tigresses will next face the Ateneo Blue Eagles at the same venue on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m. Bjorn Del B. Deade
