The Varsitarian

IT WAS a payback four years in the making.

After a heartbreaking loss to season favorite Ateneo Blue Eagles, the Growling Tigers got their momentum back at the expense of the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, in a 92-88 seesaw chase last July 25, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

It was UST’s first win over UE since an 82-81 decision in the Final Four of 2006, the same season when the Tigers won the championship over perennial rivals Ateneo.

Winning against UE catapulted UST on the top of the team standings, tying with Ateneo with a similar 3-1 win-lose slate. The Blue Eagles received an unlikely loss, 58-68 courtesy of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons last July 26.

“We were able to prepare and execute the right defense and offense tailored-fit to the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent,” coach Pido Jarencio said about their UE match.

Tigers’ ace gunner Dylan Ababou erupted for 28 points and seven rebounds while Khasim Mirza contributed 20 points and six boards.

UST big man Christopher Camus also had his share of the spotlight as he registered a “double-double” figure of 12 markers.

Mirza’s fiery hoops forged a 73-all deadlock with less than six minutes left in the ballgame, erasing the Warriors’ six-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter.

But UE’s Raphy Reyes tried to start a scoring run with back-to-back baskets that gave the Warriors a four-point lead, 73-77, with five minutes on the clock.

Camus aced a pair of charities, before an Ababou hook locked the game 77-all. Ababou scored 11 of his 28 points on the last five minutes of the fourth canto, before Camus and Teng sealed the deal at 92-88.

“I had to step-up for my team because I’m the senior,” Ababou said. “Having experienced the same pressures and situations before, I remained calm and just played our game the way it should be.”

The shaky game gave UAAP basketball fans a great deal of adrenaline as it showcased six deadlocks and seven lead changes all throughout.

In the second quarter, rookie Jeric Teng drilled a triple that forced UE to take the back seat, 29-27. This was short-lived as UE’s Narciso Llagas fired a jumper to tie the count at 29-all with 7:36 left. But Ababou sank a hook shot that broke the deadlock, 31-29, followed by a barrage of treys courtesy of Mirza, Teng, and Ababou en route to a swelling 12-point lead, 44-32. Another three courtesy of Clark Bautista iced the first half for the Tigers, 47-36.

Open three-pointers and penalty shots from UE’s Rudy Lingganay, Paul Zafar and Narciso Llagas paved way for the Warriors to trim UST’s lead to just three. A basket from Lingganay managed to close the gap to one point, 3:25 in the third quarter until a Llagas’ free throw locked the scores in another 59-all deadlock. A series of three-pointers and UE’s consistent shooting from the line allowed the Warriors team to claim the lead, 65-71, at the end of the third period.

Jarencio was satisfied with his squad’s good start and consistency, win or lose.

“What most of my players lack is experience. But as time pass, these kids will be a big boost to the UST Tigers,” he said.

Completing the Tigers’ balanced scoring crew are sophomore Allein Maliksi and dependable rookie Jeric Teng who combined for 22 points and six rebounds.

Tamed by Eagles, tamed Bulldogs

The heart of the Tigers to win in their UE battle came after the Ateneo Blue Eagles tainted UST’s unblemished record with a gut wrenching 77-93 victory.

Rookie-revelation Emman Monfort led the onslaught for Ateneo, firing triples in the second and third quarters, to bury UST with a 48-86 lead.

UST’s weak defense in the fourth quarter allowed Ateneo to take advantage of the penalty situation. The Eagles connected on 11 out of 18 shots from the stripe.

Maliksi and Ababou led the Tigers with 20 and 17 points respectively.

“We focused too much on [Rabeh] Hussaini and [Nonoy] Baclao. We underestimated their outside shooting. It just so happened that they were effective in the 3-point area,” team captain Ababou said.

The lack of tall players for the Tigers prevented them from racking up both defensive and offensive rebounds, which could have been turned into second-chance points.

The Tigers’ cold shooting against Ateneo was a disappointing follow-up to their victory against the National University Buldogs last July 16.

The Tigers tamed the Bulldogs, 104-89, to register their second straight win.

Ababou registered a double-double performance of 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead UST. Despite this, Jarencio was dissatisfied with the team’s defense.

“I didn’t like their performance. It was awkward, especially their defensive plays. They were different from our practices,” he said.

The España based dribblers began to pull away from the Bulldogs in the third quarter, with a 22-point advantage, 74-52. The Bulldogs, however, came within 12, after the Tigers relaxed on defense. But the lead proved too big for the NU squad.