AFTER an ill-fated match against the De La Salle University, the Growling Tigers bounced back to redeem themselves. University of Santo Tomas (UST) growled louder than ever, as they won over the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 83-77 on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UST was persistent in handling the ball, and led the score board in the first with four points. But UP was quick to recover, with Jose Manuel leading the game, they closed the gap and tied with UST, 34-34 in the second quarter.
The second half of the game was a crucial point for all players. The game made the crowd more rollicking, the players more earnest.
“Sinabi ko lang (sa kanila), ‘wag tayo bumitaw. Hindi tayo magpapatapon sa game na ‘to dahil nagpagod na tayo,” said UST Coach Boy Sablan to his players as the scores of both teams were closing in.
UST adjusted to a full-on defensive play and pushed a man-to-man game plan all throughout the game.
The yellow crowd then erupted to cheers of ‘One for UST’ as Kent Lao scored three on the fourth, having a 10-point lead with seven minutes on the clock.
Oliver De Guzman and Regie Basibas exploded three’s for UST, slowly leaving UP behind with 11 points lead.
“Team effort talaga yung nagpanalo sa game na ‘to. Lahat nag-contribute and nag-step up. Binibigay ko ‘yung credits sa kanila, especially sina Faundo, Basibas and De Guzman,” said Louie Vigil.
Vigil finished off with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Basibas and De Guzman each scored 11, while Lao and Subido, 10 points each.
“Sa nangyari sa La Salle, kailangan yung character namin lumabas ngayon. Maka-bounce back kami this game. ‘Yung sipag na nawala sa La Salle, dumating din ngayon,” said Coach Sablan.
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