UST locks in postseason berth

c/o UAAP

UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament Standings 

*NU 9-0

*UST 9-1

AdU 7-3

Ateneo 5-5

UP 3-6

FEU 2-7

DLSU 2-8

UE 1-8

Games on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena

8 a.m. - UE vs UST (JHS)

10 a.m. - AdU vs UE (Women)

12 p.m. - Ateneo vs UP (Women) 

2 p.m. - AdU vs UE (Men)

6:30 p.m. - Ateneo vs UP (Men)

UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas claimed the second Final Four ticket in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament with a dominant 70-54 victory over Far Eastern University on Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

After improving their record to 9-1 through 10 outings, the Growling Tigresses have secured the second semifinal seat alongside fellow Season 86 finalist NU Lady Bulldogs.

This also marks UST’s sixth consecutive Final Four appearance. 

The Tigresses last missed the semifinals in Season 79 (2016), finishing the elimination round in fifth place with a 6-8 record in Haydee Ong’s first year as UST head coach.

“Lahat naman ng program, it’s not overnight. Talagang you have to make the puzzle right, yung mga right pieces of players, right recruitment, and the UST program is more on player development rather than recruitment program,” Ong said. 

“We wanted na pag may rinecruit kaming player, it’s not always the best players, but always the right one for our program,” the former national team head coach added.

The Growling Tigresses turned a slim 23-16 first-quarter advantage into a commanding 17-point cushion at halftime, 41-24, thanks to a dominant 25-11 second-frame showing.

From there, UST did not look back, continuing to surge in the third quarter and mounting an insurmountable 24-point lead, 60-36, heading into the payoff period.

They led by as many as 26 points after an inside hit by Rachel Ambos gave the Growling Tigresses a 64-38 cushion in the fourth period, sealing their sixth straight win and replicating their 66-57 first-round beatdown of the Lady Tamaraws on October 5.

“We played according to our game plan. Yung mga easy baskets for FEU, mga turnovers namin need i-address, but overall naman, we’re happy for the win. Yung mga dapat magstep up, nagstep up, and we give some time naman doon sa bench ko for them to be exposed,” Ong added.

Tacky Tacatac led the scoring for UST with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc, along with three steals, two rebounds, and two assists. 

Kent Pastrana contributed 11 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and one steal.

Rachelle Ambos also tallied a double-double performance with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Karylle Sierba chipped in nine points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. 

CJ Maglupay was two points shy of a double-double after recording eight points and 11 rebounds, along with two assists and a block.

Looking ahead, UST’s six-game streak is at stake, setting the stage for its highly anticipated clash against lone first-round tormentor NU on Wednesday, November 6 at the same Pasay venue.

Joann Nagma paced the Lady Tamaraws in the loss with 11 points and four rebounds, while Yvette Villanueva contributed 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

Shane Salvani had an all-around stat line of eight points, 10 assists, six steals, and one block, while Victoria Pasilang chipped in eight points, four rebounds, and one assist. 

FEU’s top scorer, MJ Manguiat, who averaged 13.38 points prior to this game, was limited to three points on 0-of-10 shooting.

The Lady Tamaraws look to return to the winning column in a battle against also-ran University of the East next Sunday, November 3, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

The Scores:

UST (70) – Tacatac 12, Pastrana 11, Ambos 10, Sierba 9, Maglupay 8, Santos 8, Pescador 5, N. Danganan 4, Soriano 3, Relliquette 0, Pineda 0, Serrano 0, Amatong 0, Bron 0.

FEU (54) – Nagma 11, Villanueva 10, Salvani 8, Pasilang 8, Lopez 7, Ong 3, Manguiat 3, Dela Torre 3, Paras 1.

Quarterscores: 16-13, 41-24, 60-36, 70-54