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| c/o UAAP Media Team |
Games Thursday at FilOil EcoOil Centre
8 a.m. – AdU vs Ateneo (Boys)
10 a.m. – NUNS vs UPIS (Boys)
12 noon – FEU-D vs UE (Boys)
2 p.m. – UST vs DLSZ (Boys)
4 p.m. – Ateneo vs UST (Girls)
UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas staged a late rally to defeat University of the East, 69-59, securing its third consecutive victory in the UAAP Season 87 High School Boys’ Basketball Tournament, Thursday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Meanwhile, Far Eastern University-Diliman bounced back into the win column with a dominant 84-60 victory over a struggling University of the Philippines Integrated School squad.
With these wins, both the Tiger Cubs and the Baby Tamaraws now hold identical 3-1 records, sharing second place in the standings.
Coming off dominant wins against UPIS and defending champion Adamson University, UST found itself in a tough battle against UE.
The Tiger Cubs relied on the tandem of Gilas Youth standout Wacky Ludovice and Senegalese forward Racine Kane, who led a decisive 10-3 run to seal the win.
“Nakaka-adjust din yung kalaban, nakikita yung style of game namin. We expected na magiging tight yung game kaya sinabihan namin yung boys sa practice pa lang na we have to be ready for UE kasi last year hindi kami nakaisa diyan ‘eh,” said Tiger Cubs head coach Manu Iñigo.
After UE trimmed its deficit to 59-56 with 6:52 remaining—courtesy of a layup by Ivorian center Jean Bana and a three-pointer from Kristoper Lagat—Ludovice and Kane took over. The Tiger Cubs also tightened their defense, forcing crucial errors from UE’s Ethan Aguas and Nicolash Lorenzo in the final minute.
Kane, the 6-foot-7 forward from Senegal, delivered a monster performance with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks. Ludovice added 11 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Co-captain Kirk Cañete contributed across the board with eight points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and four steals, while Charles Esteban chipped in seven points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks.
With the loss, UE dropped to an even 2-2 record.
Aguas paced the Junior Warriors with 15 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Bana also tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, five blocks, and two steals.
Edry Alejandro had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds, adding three steals and a block, while Lance Sabroso chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Reeling from a 75-58 loss to National University Nazareth School last Sunday, FEU-D overcame a strong first-quarter surge from UPIS and dominated the rest of the game despite missing key personnel.
Xyrus Gemao served a one-game suspension after receiving a disqualifying foul against NUNS, while head coach Denok Miranda was with FEU-D’s 16-and-under team, which is set to compete in the Japan B.League Under-16 Tournament from January 30 to February 3.
“As a senior coach, nag-takeover ako for this week. Nag-respond sila sa game plan namin kasi sinasabi ko nga sa kanila na porket UPIS kalaban natin, which is mababa sa standing, syempre dapat manggigil din tayo tulad kung paano sila manggigil sa atin,” said Baby Tamaraws assistant coach Bert Flores.
UPIS started strong with a 20-8 first-quarter lead, but FEU-D answered with a commanding 28-12 second-quarter surge, flipping the momentum and taking a 42-32 advantage at halftime.
Despite a late push from UPIS, which trimmed the deficit to 68-56 with under seven minutes left, the Baby Tamaraws responded with a 12-2 rally—highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Liam Salangsang—to build an 80-58 cushion and put the game away.
Salangsang led five Baby Tamaraws in double figures with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, along with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Marc Burgos flirted with a double-double, finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
Jheremy Godoy also chipped in 15 points, while Cabs Cabonilas tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and one steal.
Mico Pascual added a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, along with a steal and a block.
Halfway through the season, UPIS remains winless at 0-4, with an average losing margin of 30.8 points per game.
Bruce Tubongbanua led UPIS with 16 points, four assists, and three rebounds, while Rocco Melicor also scored 16 points with four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Nathan Egea added 12 points, five rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
Jhustin Hallare struggled with six points on 2-of-10 shooting, while Jaime Gomez de Liano was limited to just three points on 1-of-8 shooting.
The Scores:
First Game (Boys):
UST (69) - Kane 24, Ludovice 11, Cañete 8, Esteban 7, Manding 6, Buenaflor 6, Bucsit 5, Solon 2, Catalan 0, Acido 0.
UE (59) - Aguas 15, Bana 15, Alejandro 11, Sabroso 10, Diaz 4, Lagat 4, Bual 0, Chua 0, Timbol 0, Almanza 0, Lorenzo 0, Dahino 0, Roquid 0, Cuevas 0, Abellar 0.
Quarterscores: 18-23, 41-37, 55-49, 69-59.
Second Game (Boys):
FEU-D (84) - Salangsang 16, Burgos 15, Godoy 15, Cabonilas 12, Pascual 10, Esperanza 4, Hall 3, Raneses 3, De Guzman 2, Santos 2, Castillejos 2, Maierhofer 0, Dagcutan 0.
UPIS (60) - Tubongbanua 16, Melicor 16, Egea 12, Hallare 6, De Liano 3, Uvero 3, Poquiz 2, Coronel 2, Hernandez 0, Rosete 0, Pascual 0, Cobico 0, Gepitan 0, Mariano 0.
Quarterscores: 14-20, 42-32, 62-47, 84-60.
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