Tag: No. 1

SIX YEARS after the Growling Tigers propelled a Cinderella-run which upset powerhouse Ateneo de Manila University, the black-and-gold squad is still on-the-haunt of that lost glory.

Despite the doubts and criticisms lurking around, some members of the historic 2006 UST champion team expressed their support and confidence on the current fold of the Tigers, who gave the top-seeded Ateneo a big scare before losing a hard-fought 66-69 in their semifinals encounter last season.

Will the Tigers bring back the glory to España once again?

WHEN YOU finish nearly at the bottom in a UAAP basketball season, there’s nowhere to go but up.

Such is the situation now confronting the Tigers, whose 4-10 win-loss record bested only a winless University of the Philippines squad.

But UST coach Pido Jarencio promised that the story would be different in the coming season 74, especially with an inspired team on UST’s 400th founding anniversary.

“The team is more intact this year than last year,” he said.

Despite their untimely exit in the Filoil-Flying V Preseason Premiere Cup, the Tigers found a measure of confidence after after outclassing NCAA runner-up San Sebastian College and UAAP powerhouse De La Salle University Green Archers in the tournament.

THE TIGER-powered Max! Bond Super Glue Sumos bowed down to the NLEX Road Warriors, 59-74, in their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Developmental League Foundation Cup semifinals encounter at the Ynares Sports Arena last June 9.

The loss knocked the Sumos out of title contention but finished in third place in the scores quotient category.

Sumos head coach Pido Jarencio attributed their loss to the team’s “laziness” and slow defensive rotations on court.

“We have a very low energy back there. We could not rotate immediately in the defensive end and we can’t execute plays as fast as we would like,” he said.

THE ROAD to another UAAP title begins with the Final Four. This is the immediate and realistic goal of the Tigers who will parade seven rookies in the coming season.

It remains to be seen how they will actually fare against the best in the league. But going by their respective backgrounds, these fresh recruits are no pushovers.

GONE are the three of the school’s most accomplished coaches, but UST is moving on.

In fact new coaches Odjie Mamon (women’s volleyball, Chris Cantonjos (women’s basketball) and Gabby Remigio (tennis) have vowed to continue UST’s winning tradition.

Mamon, former coach of the national women’s team begun implementing what he called his “open secret” strategy—the “P<S<B (passing is greater than serving is greater than blocking) formula. It meant to prove the Lady Spikers’ basic volleyball skills and, eventually, improve their offensive plays.

“I want to bond and discipline the team,” Mamon said. “With the new system I will layout a new foundation, we have a vision and I want everything to be standardized.”

WITH the conflicts of the past now over, the Tigresses are focused on the bottomline-win their first championship since 2006.

Thanks to a new coaching staff led by Chris Cantonjos, the team hopes to regain the title by playing more aggressive offense and especially defense.

“Past is past. Right now, we have set aside our internal conflicts to develop the team’s offensive and defensive plays,” top player Mary Laud said in Filipino.

With the Tigresses’ lineup still intact, Laud, together with inside players Paula Jean Bombeo and Chris Silva, will orchestrate their notorious run-and-gun play, but with more physicality in the post.

THE UST Shuttlers settled for two silver medals and a bronze in the MVP Sports Foundation-Bingo Bonanza Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRS) tournament at the Pohang Badminton Center in Bacolod City last June 3 to 5.

But head coach Noli Cajefe said the finish was a bit of an achievement for UST, considering a tough field that included an RP team-powered Ateneo squad.

“It was a tough fight for us. But the results were just okay for at least some of them were able to enter the quarterfinals out of how many professional players in the country. There’s really superiority,” he said.

UST ATHLETES made their mark in the Philippine Olympic Committee-Philippine Sports Commission (POC-PSC) National Games in Bacolod last May 22 to 29.

The Tiger Judokas led the way for the National Capital Region with a 5-5-3 gold-silver-bronze medal haul.

“Most of the competitors are still playing in the UAAP, they (Judokas) showed that they are still the team to beat in the UAAP,” said then coach Jojo Arce.

“But we need to take a deeper look into their shortcomings and weaknesses, so they may further improve.”

THE SHAKEY’S V-League can wait.

The Lady Spikers have opted to skip the second installment of the tournament which will kick off this July 3.New head coach Odjie Mamon said the team was still adjusting to his new system and they did not get an official invitation to the tournament anyway.

Mamon, who replaced coach Cesael Delos Santos, preferred that his wards focus on their training to ensure that they would be ready for the UAAP.

He said players which could compromise their eligibility in the UAAP could not afford to miss classes because of the tight V-League schedule.

“I don’t want to sacrifice each player’s eligibility since V-League is demanding when it comes to time,” he explained.

THE TIGERS need to grow up. Fast.

The departure of Most Valuable Player (MVP) Dylan Ababou and other veterans has left UST with a young squad that will need a good dose of maturity and poise for a return trip to the Final Four.

Coach Pido Jarencio is optimistic that teamwork will do the trick for a lineup with no clear superstar.

“I always emphasize to them (Tigers) that basketball is a team game,” he said in Filipino. “Right now, we are playing as a team both in defense and in offense.”

Without a go-to-guy in the lineup, big man Chris Camus, Carmelo Afuang and the backcourt tandem of Clark Bautista and Jeric Fortuna will lead the UST charge this season. Not to mention sophomore Jeric Teng, who was a revelation in his rookie year.