THE UST Growling Tigers dismantled the Nagoya Gakuin University, 88-75, to claim their first win in the Pinoy Liga Global Invitationals at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion on Tuesday, March 25.
Point guard Kyle Paranada earned Player of the Game honors after providing UST a spark off the bench with 14 points, 3 rebounds and a steal.
“My teammates trust me with the ball every time and they always trust me to make the right plays,” Paranada told The Flame.
“All these little tournaments, tune-up games, they’re all good for us because they’re just preparing us for the real thing: the UAAP,” he added.
The Tigers kicked off the game with a 13-6 lead, highlighted by five early points from team captain Nic Cabanero. Nagoya Gakuin immediately countered it, cutting the lead down to three courtesy of back-to-back throwdowns from Serigne Toure.
After the timeout, Paranada knocked down a triple then followed it up with an and-1 to extend UST’s lead at the end of the first frame, 22-15.
The second salvo remained in the Tigers’ favor as big man Gelo Crisostomo scored three consecutive baskets to stretch their lead to double-digits, 34-20.
Import Amadou Niang kept the Japanese team afloat, scoring seven consecutive markers capped off with a ferocious dunk to close the first half down 14 points, 45-31.
UST continued its onslaught in the third stanza after Forthsky Padrigao drilled a three-pointer and Amiel Acido converted a pair of layups to build their largest lead of the game, 66-39.
Nagoya’s Raiki Takagi drilled a triple but the Tigers held a comfortable 70-49 cushion before the fourth frame.
Takagi came out firing in the last 10 minutes, scoring 10 of his total 25 points to shave UST’s lead down to 10, 85-75. However, it was not enough to get over the hump as Paranada secured the victory with a corner three.
The Tigers will seek to continue their winning ways as they go up against the UE Red Warriors on Wednesday, March 26, at the same venue. F
