THE WOMEN’S Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) got off to a roaring start on Sunday, Jan. 19.
After dominating the glass with 62 total rebounds, the UST Growling Tigresses knocked down Discovery Perlas, 82-67, in WMPBL’s inaugural game at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
The victory marked the UAAP Season 87 silver-medalists as the first team in the league’s win column.
Freshly appointed UST head coach Ged Austria expressed gratitude after taking the keys of the team after veteran coach Haydee Ong was named the league’s commissioner.
“I’m really thankful for coach Haydee for giving me trust to steer the ship as the head coach for UST,” Austria said postgame.
“I hope this serves as the key for the growth of women’s basketball… It’s not all the time you get to face ex-pros or people who once represented the Philippines, so I remind them to always never take the opportunity for granted,” he added.
Both teams kicked off the historic matchup all tangled up at 11-all. UST then launched an 8-0 run capped by a layup from Brigette Santos, 19-11.
Perlas retaliated after Allana Lim scored six points in the quarter that helped cut her team’s deficit to close the first frame, 21-17.
UST’s newly acquired foreign student-athlete Isioma Onianwa proved to be a force down low, scoring back-to-back paint baskets to build a 15-point lead at halftime, 42-27.
With homecourt advantage, the España squad continued to flourish after ballooning its cushion to 27 points midway through the fourth period, 80-53.
Lim sparked a 14-2 run in the waning minutes to keep Perlas alive but it was not enough to overcome the Tigresses.
“We’re still not comfortable with what we were able to give, I had some teammates who were off the game,” Tigress star rookie Karylle Sierba told The Flame.
“We still need to adjust… We need to watch what we did wrong and apply it correctly the next game,” she added after chalking up a team-high 14 points off the bench.
Meanwhile, Nigerian center Onianwa contributed 13 markers and nine boards in her debut game with the Tigresses.
For Perlas, Lim finished with 17 points while Camille Sambile added 13. F – Joshua Louis Sumanghid with reports from Shayne Lee Andreas Macaraeg
