THE UST Growling Tigers notched their second straight win after routing the Perpetual Altas, 80-57, in the Asiabasket NSAC College Basketball Campus Tour on Saturday, April 25, at the UP Varsity Training Center.
Missing the services of big men Gelo Crisostomo and Collins Akowe, UST remained unfazed behind Koji Buenaflor and foreign student-athlete Peter Osang, who combined for 29 points and 18 rebounds.
The España-squad came out firing to open the game, as triples from Amiel Acido and Buenaflor gave UST a 14-4 lead.
Despite Angelo Gelsano draining a three to trim Perpetual’s deficit, a driving layup from Donovan Sevilla kept the Tigers in front to close the first frame, 23-14.
Momentum quickly shifted to the Altas’ side in the second salvo, as a layup from Kurt Velasquez capped off an 11-0 blitz for their first lead of the game, 25-23.
The Tigers eventually found a late spark with a 5-0 run from Charles Bucsit, which extended their halftime lead to 38-31.
UST waxed hot to open the second half, with baskets from Acido and Osang capping off a 15-0 barrage, 59-37.
Perpetual’s Jan Roluna sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to shave their deficit to 61-48 by the end of the third period.
The Tigers opened the final frame strong, as consecutive buckets from Buenaflor and Mark Llemit ballooned UST’s cushion further, 71-50.
Despite late buckets from Atlas, a layup from Osang sealed the victory.
Acido added 11 markers for the Tigers.
Gelsano paced Perpetual in the loss with 13 points, while Roluna chipped in 11.
The Tigers will look to stay undefeated when they face the San Sebastian Stags on Sunday, April 26, at the same venue. F
