THE UST Growling Tigresses managed to remain unbeaten at the UAAP Season 86 women’s basketball tournament, dominating last season’s finalist, DLSU Lady Archers, 91-57, on Sunday, Oct. 8.
It was a sweet revenge for the Tigresses, whose 74-69 loss to the Lady Archers last season blew their hopes for a final spot against the NU Lady Bulldogs.
Five players of the España-based squad tallied double-digits, securing the team’s third consecutive win at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
UST blasted off early with a 23-point lead in the first quarter, 35-12.
The second quarter commenced with the Lady Archers shooting a short momentum and closing the gap against the Growling Tigresses, 19-24. But UST guard Tacky Tacatac fired a continuous barrage of triples to end the first half, 54-36.
The second half opened slowly due to the continuous fouls committed by both teams, 56-38. However, Tacatac once again roared back with the help of Tantoy Ferrer to extend UST’s lead to 24 points, 70-46.
Reigning MVP Eka Soriano proved she’s still on fire by dropping a scoring bomb to pull away from the Lady Archers, 83-50 in the last frame. UST’s Apple Maglupay contributed two consecutive points with less than two minutes in the game, allowing UST to demolish DLSU, 91-57.
Tacatac led UST with a game-high score of 25 points, three rebounds and three steals, while Tigresses’ forward Brigette Santos and Ferrer chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Lady Archer Luisa San Juan scored 14 markers from four threes and four boarders.
The Growling Tigresses will seek to extend their streak as they face off against defending champions NU Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the Adamson Gymnasium. F
