THE UST Growling Tigresses clinched the second seed after outclassing the Adamson Lady Falcons, 60-47, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
With the win, the defending champions are assured of a twice-to-beat incentive, whether in a Final Four or a potential stepladder format.
UST improved to an 11-2 win-loss slate. Meanwhile, Adamson fell to an 8-5 record, sharing the third seed with Ateneo.
It was a different affair than their Round 1 encounter, where the Tigresses trailed the entire match and pulled a come-from-behind win.
The Lady Falcons showed aggressiveness in the opening minutes with an early blitz capped off by a Kim Limbago triple, 11-4.
However, veteran Tigresses Eka Soriano and Tacky Tacatac fired consecutive triples that ignited a 16-1 barrage to overtake the lead in the first quarter, 20-12.
In the second salvo, UST fell to an offensive lull and scored only two field goals to the four of Adamson.
A three-pointer from Tacatac ended the low-scoring quarter that limited both teams to 10 points apiece, 30-22.
Tigress junior Brigette Santos lighted it up in the second half, scoring eight of her 10 points in the quarter alone.
Back-to-back layups from Santos and two freebies from forward Agatha Bron brought the Tigresses ahead by 13 points to close the third quarter, 47-34.
The España-based squad then continued to take control in the last 10 minutes, as a triple from Tacatac and a fastbreak layup from Santos built a 15-point advantage, 54-39.
Lady Falcon Kim Limbago tried to breathe life for the team with a layup in the dying minutes, but the Tigresses were just too much, 56-45.
“It’s a good thing that our communication in defense is good. We just do what we practice, help each other, and contribute what we can,” Santos told The Flame.
“Even though we’re undersized, it’s really important to just work for it every game,” Tigress head coach Haydee Ong said postgame.
“Whatever happens in the Final Four, we will work again… Our goal, of course, is to reach the finals again,” she added.
Tacatac led UST with 13 points and two steals, while Kent Pastrana and Santos chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Nigerian center Kem Adeshina was the lone double-digit scorer for Adamson as she had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Tigresses will look to end the eliminations with a win over the DLSU Lady Archers on Saturday, Nov. 23, at the same venue. F
