A YEAR ago, the UST Growling Tigresses made history and brought the gold back to España by dethroning the nine-peat-seeking NU Lady Bulldogs.
Fast forward to the present, the same two teams will battle it out once again in a three-game finals series that will begin on Dec. 8 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
But to bag back-to-back chips, the Tigresses must accomplish a feat that no other team has done this season: Defeat the Lady Bulldogs.
The España-based team is facing an interesting scenario where the defending champion is the underdog and the revenge-hungry contender has a key advantage.
“We have to work harder, better… Against NU, we are at a disadvantage in terms of height,” UST head coach Haydee Ong said after her squad shot down the Adamson Lady Falcons in the knockout stepladder match last Wednesday.
“When it comes to the championship, the X and Os don’t really matter anymore… it’s the heart of who wanted it more and it’s very important to get the Game 1 this Sunday,” the tactician added.
Packing the biggest bite in the Bustillos-based squad is graduating senior Camille Clarin, who averaged 17.5 points in the two games against the España squad. She averaged 10.3 points, 4.29 rebounds and 3.57 assists during the eliminations, leading her team to a flawless 14-0 record and an outright finals berth.
Despite being the best in the league, the Lady Bulldogs had no one cracking into the Mythical Five. But rookie hotshot Cielo Pagdulangan showed so much promise for her team as she put up 9.86 points and five boards in all wins.
UST concluded the season as the second seed after finishing the season with a 12-2 slate. Both defeats came against NU.
The reigning champions’ two meetings against the Lady Bulldogs ended in heartbreak, with the Tigresses falling short in both games by six points, 75-69 and 76-70, respectively.
Leading the charge for the Tigresses is recently inducted Mythical Five member Kent Pastrana, who averaged 15.21 points, 8.36 rebounds and 3.29 assists.
Pastrana, who finished second in MVP Voting, will try to steer her team to victory after flirting with a triple-double in UST’s stepladder win against Adamson. She posted a monstrous stat line of 23 points, 16 boards, and eight dimes.
However, the Tigress star do not have to do it alone as veterans Tacky Tacatac, Brigette Santos and Eka Soriano will show their hunger to go back-to-back. Rookie hotshot Karylle Sierba is also expected to add firepower as she averaged 9.71 makers per contest in 14 games.
UST leads NU in the majority of the statistical categories, such as rebounds, steals and blocks. But the Tigresses are adopting the underdog mindset as they collide with the team that swept them during the eliminations in a setting where the stakes are way higher.
“For them (NU), it’s redemption season… For us, we want a repeat for this season,” Ong said in an earlier interview.
“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.” F – Joshua Louis Sumanghid
