IT WILL be the underdogs versus the Lady Bulldogs in the finals.
For the second straight year, the UST Growling Tigresses are in the finals for another duel with their familiar and formidable foes from Bustillos.
The defending champions secured their finals berth after trouncing the gritty Adamson Lady Falcons, 71-59, in the UAAP Season 87 women’s basketball knockout stepladder match at the Mall of Asia Arena, on Wednesday, Dec. 4,
Now the underdog, UST will try to defend its crown in a finals rematch against the unbeaten and revenge-seeking NU.
The Bustillos-based Lady Bulldogs earned an automatic finals slot after posting a spotless record during the elimination round.
“For them (NU), it’s redemption season… For us, we want a repeat for this season,” UST head coach Haydee Ong said postgame.
“For us, we are the underdog… they are always the ones with the advantage and we are the ones with the disadvantage. We have to work. I don’t see that we have to chase them, we have to work to beat them,” she added.
It was a total team effort right from the start as UST jumped to a 16-2 start capped off by a three from forward Rachelle Ambos. The Lady Falcons caught up with an 8-0 run and managed to trim the Tigresses’ lead during the end of rhe opening frame, 21-12.
Things got tighter in the second salvo as Adamson fed on foreign student-athlete Oluwakemi Adeshina to shave UST’s lead to just one point, 33-32. Lady Falcon Crisnalyn Padilla’s triple turned the tables around for her team, snatching the lead from the España squad to close out the first half, 37-35.
UST regained control in the second half as Pastrana and CJ Maglupay found their tempo to fuel a 13-3 run to enter the fourth quarter, 54-45.
In the late minutes, Tigress veteran shooter Tacky Tacatac drilled a baseline three to keep the Lady Falcons at bay with a 67-55 advantage. Consecutive buckets from forward Nicole Danganan sealed UST’s ticket to the finals.
Four Tigresses scored in double-digits, with Mythical Five member Pastrana leading the charge. She exploded with 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. Maglupay added a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double. Meanwhile, Tacatac and Brigette Santos chipped in 10 markers each.
For the Lady Falcons, Elaine Etang and Adeshina tallied 12 points apiece.
“There is no pressure for us because we have nothing to prove… We just did our best, what we had to do,” Pastrana told The Flame. F
