28 October 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
Manila, Philippines – Fourth year Marvin Lee poured triples in the second quarter that pushed the University of Santo Tomas back on their winning ways in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament.
UST defeated University of the East, 79-68, on Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan to clinch solo fourth in the tournament with a 5-5 win-loss record.
Down six points in the second quarter, Lee blasted UE with five triples and boosted the Growling Tigers for a 16-4 run and take a 39-31 lead at the half.
Super rookie CJ Cansino joined Lee in leading UST towards victory, despite spraining his ankle late in the third quarter, because of a bad fall while grabbing a rebound.
UE could only cut the deficit to nine points after an Alvin Pasaol bucket, 63-54, before UST stretched it again to a double-digit lead.
Lee paved the way for UST with his career-high 30 points on top of two assists and two rebounds, despite the absence of his teammate Renzo Subido, who suffered a stress fracture on his left leg during their practice.
Cansino, on the other hand, played through his ankle pain and filled the stat sheets with a triple-double of 20 markers, 13 boards and 10 assists, along with two steals. This is the first time in 15 years that a rookie managed to record a triple-double in the UAAP tournament.
Zachary Huang chipped in 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the win.
On the other hand, Alvin Pasaol exploded 26 points and seven boards, while Philip Manalang had 15 markers, eight assists and four boards.
Chris Conner knocked down 12 points and seven boards in the losing effort as UE dropped to 1-10 slate.
The Scores:
UST 79 – Lee 30, Cansino 20, Huang 14, Bataller 4, Bonleon 4, Caunan 2, Agustin 2, Mahinay 2, Zamora 1, Marcos 0.
UE 68 – Pasaol 26, Manalang 15, Conner 12, Bartolome 6, Varilla 4, Strait 3, Lacap 2, Guion 0, Beltran 0, Cullar 0, Gallardo 0.
QUARTER SCORES: 17-19, 39-33, 59-49, 79-68.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @meanxi
Photo Gallery at https://www.facebook.com/Burnsports/
