The UST Tiger Cubs and the Junior Golden Tigresses kicked off their 2023 SM National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) National Championships campaign with wins at the One E-com Center in Pasay on Wednesday.
The Tiger Cubs outmuscled the Team Tarlac, 66-62, while the Junior Golden Tigresses thrashed the One Ibajay by 70 points, 104-34.
The Tiger Cubs were up by 15 points early in the fourth quarter, 60-45, but Team Tarlac exploded with a late 13-2 run to trim UST’s lead to four, 62-58.
The Tiger Cubs sturdied up on defense to halt Team Tarlac’s comeback attempt, 66-62.
“Masaya ako na nakapag-laro lahat ng mga players, medyo kumalas nga lang sa last two minutes ng game kaya nakahabol pa ng kaunti (Team Tarlac), kaya binalik ko ang mga starters. UST head coach Jinino Manansala told the Varsitarian. Ngayon pagbubutihan namin ‘yung next na game, lalo na wala kaming idea pa. Bawal muna mag-relax,”
The Junior Golden Tigresses displayed dominance early, scoring 58 points and only allowing 11 points, 58-11.
Up next for the Junior Golden Tigresses is the FilNation team tomorrow, March 16, at the Pretty Huge Court in Taguig, while the Tiger Cubs will battle against the Dubai Patriots tomorrow, 2 p.m., at the Mall of Asia Arena.
