Tag: No. 2

THE UST Tiger Cubs displayed game-long brilliance and savvy as they routed the listless UE Red Pages, 77-64, to notch their second straight win in the UAAP juniors basketball tournament last July 29 at the Ateneo Gym.

From an early 4-8 deficit, the Tiger Cubs stepped on the gas and unloaded a crippling 24-9 blast to lead, 28-17, going into the second quarter.

WHEN the University of Santo Tomas Lady Spikers face perennial UAAP contender De La Salle University on opening day, the public focus will be on the team’s new recruits as coach Augusto Santamaria expects his rookies to play a vital role in the Volleybelles’ campaign this season.

With the stinging setback of last year’s Final Four already behind them, the UST Lady Spikers have renewed hopes this year with the entry of some quality rookies into their fold.

WITH the UAAP men’s basketball tournament already in full blast, UST fans will miss key players Cyrus Baguio, Melchor Latoreno, and Gilbert Lao from the Growling Tiger’s line-up.

This was after Coach Januario “Aric” Del Rosario cracked the whip on the three players, who had acquired academic deficiencies, because they opted to play in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) rather than prioritize their studies.

THE CURRENT UAAP hoop wars paint a very unfamiliar picture of the UST Growling Tigers.

Gone is the fearsome aura of the ballclub that copped four straight championships from 1993-1996. Big-time players like Dennis Espino, Bal David, Richard Yee, and Dale Singson no longer dominate the UST bench. What is left of the Tigers this season are youthful studs who are out in the hardcourt to give guts-out plays to preserve the pride and the winning tradition the former players left behind.

ARMED with pride and an insatiable desire to give honor to the country, the UST Aqua Fortis Rowing team defied the odds and posted a smashing performance in the Taipei International Dragon Boat Championships 2001 last June.

Despite the presence of top-notch dragon boat teams, which included squads from the United States, Thailand, and England, the España-based Rowers refused to be intimidated in their quest to rule the world’s most prestigious dragon boat tournament.

Facing the opponent that gave them the early ticket out of the final four last season, the UST Growling Tigresses displayed a knack for reliving history.

The España-based lady cagers blew their shot at redemption as they succumbed to the Adamson Lady Falcons, 60-53, last July 29 at the UST Gym.

The Tigresses never recovered from an overwhelming Adamson surge in the second canto where they were outscored, 19-7. The outburst broke the game wide open after a close three-point UST deficit at the end of the first quarter.

THE PROGESS was swift, the transformation was outstanding, and Coach Emiliano Lontoc was no less than satisfied.

“ ‘Yan ang sinasabi ko sa kanila, sa laro wala nang rookies. Ang mahalaga ay ang natutunan nila sa training,” Lontoc said.

“Maganda ang ipinakita nang mga bata, lalo na ‘yung mga bago. Kung ganyan, malaki ang tsansa nating makuha ang championship,”

RARING to recapture the championship they lost three years ago, the UST Tiger Woodpushers went to work early and dropped the upset axe over defending champions De La Salle University, 2.5-1.5, in the opening match of the UAAP Chess Tournament last Aug. 5 at the UE Briefing Room.

Newly-named National Master Bob Jones Liwagon became the biggest talk of the day as he pulled the rug from under Archer and fellow National Master Oliver Dimakiling in 55 moves of a French defense opening.

WITH revenge in their minds, the University of Santo Tomas Lady Spikers locked horns with defending champions Far Eastern University Lady Tamaraws, only to suffer another humiliation.

UST collapsed in straight sets, 20-25, 21-25, 19-25 last August 1 at the UP College of Human Kinetics gym in Diliman.

Barely showing the determination that made them a formidable force last season, the UST Lady Spikers continued to display inconsistencies in their game as they hardly put up a fight against the more aggressive Lady Tamaraws.

THE DARK omen that haunted the UST Growling Tigers in the pre–season is slowly creeping back.

In their worst start since 1989 when they went 0-4 in their first few games, the Tigers took a free-fall in the early Final Four race as they collapsed in the endgame and fell prey to the feisty National University Bulldogs, 83-80, last August 4 at the Loyola Gym.

As the España-based cagers dropped to a 1-4 win-loss record, the pre-season predicament of missing a semifinal stint began seeping into the minds of the Tigers.