THE UST Growling Tigresses opened their Pinoyliga Global Invitationals campaign with a victory over Nagoya Gakuin University, 68-55, on Tuesday, March 25, at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.
After being down in the first 10 minutes, the Tigresses showed grit to overpower the visiting Japanese squad.
“The team’s identity is that we give importance to our defense… we were able to limit the outside shooting of the Japanese team,” UST head coach Haydee Ong told The Flame.
Nagoya came out strong in the opening quarter, launching a 9-0 run sparked by Hinana Nishida’s fastbreak bucket. Saki Ushiroda added a five-point swing to give the Japanese squad a 16-8 advantage.
UST tried to catch up but Ayumi Ohashi’s buzzer-beating lay-in closed the first quarter with Nagoya still ahead, 24-16.
The Tigresses roared to a 9-0 start in the second salvo topped by a bucket from foreign student-athlete Isioma Onianwa, overtaking control of the match, 25-24.
As the game tightened up, UST hotshot Karylle Sierba sank a three-pointer to give her team a 34-31 advantage heading into halftime.
In the third period, the Tigresses remained in control as Nicole Danganan and CJ Maglupay provided paint presence to push their lead to 50-42.
Nagoya struggled to convert in the fourth quarter until Rika Uenohara drilled back-to-back triples to cut UST’s lead to four, 54-50.
The España-based squad, however, built a 14-5 run after Onianwa and Sierba took over to secure the victory.
Onianwa led the Tigresses with 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
“We’re hoping to see continued improvement from her. Slowly but surely, we’re building team chemistry with Oma,” Ong said postgame, praising the 6-foot-3 Nigerian center for her strong presence in the paint.
The Tigresses squad will aim for back-to-back wins as they take on the UE Lady Red Warriors on March 26, Wednesday, at the same venue. F – with reports from Francia Migyel Violeta
