The Varsitarian

THE ROAD to redemption is no walk in the park, after all.

But the UST Tiger Cubs, leaving behind a dismal UAAP season, continue to stay on course despite a wobbly round-up in the on-going Nike Summer League.

“All of this is in preparation for the upcoming UAAP season,” coach Allan Ascue told the Varsitarian. “We haven’t reached our peek yet but I think this would greatly reflect our performance.”

Riding on an 18-0 first-quarter salvo, the España-based cagers easily disposed of a hapless Jose Abad Santos Memorial School team, 89-23, last May, 8 at the Far Eastern University gym to chalk up their third win in five starts.

The Tiger Cubs pounced on their opponents’ passing miscues right from the opening tiff with a flurry of hook shots, lay-ups, and jumpers to turn a 26-6 lead into an insurmountable 50-11 bulge at halftime.

UST then pressed on its onslaught further come third period, mounting a 73-16 spread anchored on new recruit Eduardo Aytona and mainstay Cedrick Labing-isa.

Aytona and Labing-isa combined for 20 points to lead UST while Lance Palma led the Jose Abad Santos quintet with eight points.

Win some, lose some

Previously, the Tiger Cubs suffered two consecutive loses after most of their stalwarts took the backseat for health reasons.

“Unfortunately for us, a lot of our big men were missing in action during the last two matches and no one stood-out to go against the flow of the games we lost,” Ascue said.

UST was on the brink of elimination after absorbing an 84-93 defeat from Jose Rizal University (JRU) last April 24 and falling against De La Salle-Zobel, 55-73, last April 20.

The loses endangered the Tiger Cubs’ off-season bid and relegated them to third spot behind league-leaders JRU and La Salle-Zobel with a 2-2 win-loss card.

Earlier in the tournament, UST notched its first two victories by trouncing Don Bosco Technical College, 83-55, last April 18 and Philippine College of Criminology, 60-55, last April 13. H.J.D. Brobo