A FAMILIAR fate struck the UST Growling Tigers anew after falling to the UP Fighting Maroons, 92-85, in their UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday, Sept. 13, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With the loss, the Growling Tigers continue their long misfortune against the Katipunan-squad, dropping 12 out of their last 13 meetings, including back-to-back Final Four losses in Seasons 87 and 88.
Both teams exchanged offensive sparks to start the match, but consecutive putback layups from Gani Stevens gave the Fighting Maroons a slim cushion midway through the opening frame, 14-10.
The España-squad eventually found their rhythm, as back-to-back threes from Ice Danting trimmed UST’s deficit to close the first quarter, 22-24.
The Tigers continued to strum the chords, as a four-point play from Amiel Acido, followed by a Koji Buenaflor fadeaway, capitalized a massive 13-0 run to take the lead, 43-38.
Despite former UE Red Warriors Rey Remogat and Rainer Maga drilling a pair of threes to cut the deficit, a basket by Landyn Jumawan through contact kept the Tigers in front entering halftime, 48-44.
The Tigers continued to pace their lead in the third frame, as a three pointer from Donovan Sevilla, followed by a Collins Akowe layup, extended UST’s cushion, 55-46.
The Maroons later found their spark, as back-to-back buckets from Sean Alter returned the lead to UP entering the final 10 minutes, 66-62.
The Katipunan-squad’s onslaught remained in the final quarter as a corner three from Migs Yniguez widened UST’s deficit to double figures, 72-82.
More buckets from Acido and Akowe kept UST afloat in the dying minutes, but another Remogat three, followed by a breakaway slam from Nnoruka, sealed the victory for the Maroons, 92-85.
Co-captain Mark Llemit paced the Tigers in the loss with a team-high 19 points, while Akowe added 13 points and 18 boards.
“It all started in the second half, we took a lot of forced shots. Hopefully in our next game against La Salle we can fix it,” Acido told The Flame who chipped in 18 markers.
Nnoruka spearheaded UP’s victory with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Remogat and Yniguez chipped in 11 points each.
The Tigers will seek to enter the win column when they square off against the defending champions DLSU Green Archers on Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Mall of Asia Arena. F
