UST formalizes fancied UAAP Girls Basketball Finals duel

c/o UAAP Media Team

UAAP Season 87 Girls’ Basketball Standings

UST 5-0*
NUNS 3-1*
DLSZ 1-4
Ateneo 0-4
* Finals

Games on Thursday at Filoil Ecooil Centre

8 a.m. - Ateneo vs NUNS (girls’)
10 a.m. - FEU-D vs ADU (boys’)
12 p.m. - Ateneo vs NUNS (boys’)
2 p.m. - DLSZ vs UE (boys’)
4 p.m. - UPIS vs UST (boys’)

UNIVERSITY  of Santo Tomas continued its dominant run in the UAAP Season 87 Girls’ Basketball Tournament, securing a commanding 107-47 victory over De La Salle-Zobel on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

With the win, the Junior Golden Tigresses improved to a flawless 5-0 record while officially eliminating the Junior Lady Archers from contention, dropping them to 1-4.

This sets up a best-of-three Finals showdown between UST and National University Nazareth School (3-1) in the return of this demonstration event after a five-year hiatus.

Back in UAAP Season 82, UST also reached the Finals against Adamson University. However, the tournament was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the UAAP declared both schools co-champions.

“I was there, but hindi pa ako yung coach nun. Actually, bitin yun, nagka-pandemic. Pero nagkaraan na yun,” said Junior Golden Tigresses head coach Sen Dysangco, referring to former head coach Ford Grajales, who led the team at the time.

“We are looking forward, not backward, but this is still part of UST’s culture and history. We will try to give a good showing in the Finals.”

UST wasted no time imposing its dominance, racing to a 31-6 lead in the first quarter before extending the advantage to 59-22 at halftime. The gap ballooned to as much as 62 points, 101-39, in the final period.

Grachelle Boteros, a Grade 12 winger, earned her second Player of the Game honor with an all-around performance of 24 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Katina Insoy and Rhiane Perez added 16 and 15 points, respectively, while Barby Dajao contributed across the board with nine points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and four steals.

“Masaya, especially the girls. But ang importante now is the mental situation ng girls because we are preparing them for the last four games. Okay naman, but we still need some work and improvements. We will continue to work on the girls,” Dysangco added.

UST will have a preview of the Finals when it faces NUNS on March 6.

For DLSZ, Sofia Martinez led the team with 10 points, while Irish Notarte chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds.

The Scores:

First Game (girls)

UST 107 - Boteros 24, Insoy 16, Perez 15, Dajao 9, Petalcorin 9, Onate 7, Pinuela 6, Wenceslao 6, Floreindo 5, Tambawan 4, Banate 3, Arciaga 3, Anonuevo 0, Villarin 0, Pesquera 0.

DLSZ 47 - Martinez 10, Notarte 8, De Luna 7, Reyes 7, Cordero 6, Navarro 6, Dominguez 3, Poral 0.

Quarterscores: 31-6, 59-22, 88-30, 107-47.