PICKING UP their second straight win in Round 2 of the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament, UST co-captain Forthsky Padrigao stressed that an aggressive mindset continues to fuel the Growling Tigers’ winning ways.
“We’ve had that attack mentality ever since… I think that’s innate to us,” Padrigao told The Flame after UST’s 67-59 victory over the Ateneo Blue Eagles on Nov. 15
“That’s what our system is, which is trying to go as hard as we can,” he added.
The España squad showed big improvements at the stripe, an area that previously haunted them in recent one-point defeats to Adamson and UP.
This time, the Tigers buried 22 of their 28 attempts for a 79% clip.
“[It’s] more on focusing on ourselves… we made mistakes last game that we can’t commit against Ateneo,” Padrigao said as he chipped in six markers, two assists, and one rebound in the win.
It was the tandem of Collins Akowe and Nic Cabañero that carried the Tigers’ scoring load with a combined 29 points. They also shot better from the line than in previous outings, with Akowe going 5-of-8 and Cabañero finishing 3-of-4.
Following DLSU’s loss to the FEU Tamaraws and Adamson, UST now holds solo third place with a 7-5 win-loss record and two games remaining in the eliminations.
The Tigers will aim to sustain their momentum when they clash with the top-seeded NU Bulldogs on Sunday, Nov 23. at the Mall of Asia Arena. F
