THE UST Growling Tigers suffered their third straight loss at the hands of the Ateneo Blue Eagles in their homecourt, 67-64, during the second round of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Oct. 19.
The Tigers were without the services of foreign student-athlete Mo Tounkara, who was suspended after incurring two technical fouls during their 94-87 overtime loss to the DLSU Green Archers.
With the defeat, the Tigers fell to a 4-6 win-loss slate. Meanwhile, the Blue Eagles improved to a 3-6 standing.
Ateneo rookie hotshot Jared Bahay ignited a 7-0 blitz to begin the match. UST struggled early offensively until Tigers Gelo Crisostomo and Nic Cabañero scored back-to-back baskets to trail by nine points at the end of the first frame, 17-8.
The España squad came alive in the second frame after playmaker Forthsky Padrigao turned defense into offense to punctuate an 8-1 run to shave the lead, 21-20. The Loyola-based squad answered back with a 10-4 run to take a 33-25 lead by halftime.
Tied at 37-all in the third period, Cabañero sank two free throws to overtake the lead. The Blue Eagles, however, responded with an eight-point barrage fueled by a left-corner triple from Andrew Bongo to finish the quarter with a seven-point advantage, 48-41.
Veteran Tiger Christian Manaytay erupted in the fourth, scoring nine points in the quarter alone to bring the game within punching distance, 62-57. Cabanero then scored on a fastbreak to make it a one-possession game, 64-62.
With 16 seconds left in the clock, Ateneo team captain Sean Quitevis stole an inbound pass from Padrigao that led to a breakaway layup, 66-62. Tiger guard Kyle Paranada then converted a basket on the next play but it was already too late.
Bongo led Ateneo to a much-needed win with 14 points and seven rebounds. Guard Ian Espinosa contributed 11 points, six boards and a couple of assists. Shawn Tuano and Chris Koon added 10 markers each.
Cabañero paced UST with 18 points and six rebounds. Manaytay tallied 11 points and three boards.
The Tigers will try to end their three-game skid against the FEU Tamaraws on Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Mall of Asia Arena. F
