THE UST Growling Tigresses punched their ticket to a third straight UAAP women’s basketball finals berth after blazing through the Season 88 elimination round with a perfect 14-0 sweep on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
UST capped its historic run with a dominant 101-84 triumph over the FEU Lady Tamaraws at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, marking its first-ever elimination sweep since official statistics were recorded in 2003.
“We will take a break after this. Reset and review what needs to be improved for our own because we still don’t know our competitor,” UST head coach Haydee Ong said postgame.
The España squad’s finals opponent will be determined through a stepladder format featuring Ateneo, DLSU and Adamson.
Karylle Sierba spearheaded the scoring for the Tigresses with 17 points, while five other players were in double-digits.
UST imposed its dominance early, attacking the paint and quickly building a double-digit cushion in the opening quarter, 28-17.
Sierba caught fire in the second frame, drilling all her long-range attempts to score 11 points and push UST to its largest lead at 18, 38-20.
Both teams traded blows in the third quarter, but UST maintained control and preserved its double-digit advantage heading into the final quarter, 72-59.
The Morayta-based squad refused to fold in the fourth, slicing the deficit down to 85-73 with seven minutes left.
But UST’s Coi Danganan halted the rally with back-to-back clutch baskets. The Tigresses capitalized on fastbreak opportunities to rebuild the cushion and seal the sweep.
Danganan finished with 15 points and six rebounds for UST, while Oma Onianwa contributed 14 markers and nine boards. Kent Pastrana and Eka Soriano added 13 apiece.
Amyah Espanyol paced FEU with 25 points and four assists, while Shem Abatayo added 21 markers, as FEU missed out on a Final Four spot with a 6-8 record. F
