A closer look at how a Jeric-less UST outplayed UE

“I'm speechless” admitted a relieved UST coach Pido Jarencio after his Growling Tigers had disposed of the UE Red Warriors 88-77 on Saturday.

“Ilang araw na ako walang tulog” he said, from worrying about how his team would cope sans Jeric Teng, who was out with a shoulder injury after a bruising hit by NU's Joeffrey Javillonar.

“Noong nawala si Jeric ang naramdaman ko, parang nawalang ako ng gwapong anak” continued Jarencio, who sported a patch of masking tape on his shirt with a #16, Teng's number, scrawled on it.

“Pero meron pala akong labindalawang gwapong anak na nagpa-pogi ngayon.”

First and foremost amongst his handsome brood must have been Aljon Mariano, who produced 24 points, eleven of which in the fourth quarter, bettered on his team only by Cameroonian center Karim Abdul.

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The victory improves Santo Tomas to 3-1, good enough for solo second against spotless FEU, and a half-game clear of Adamson and National U, who are at 2-1.

UST only sprinted clear of the pesky Red Warriors with a 16-4 run with four minutes to go. UE slumps to 1-3, the good vibes of their heroic win over NU now seeming rather distant.

UE was missing its own star, Sierra Leonian big man Charles Mammie, who was suspended for his roughousing against Falcon Roider Cabrera, his second major transgression of the season. Abdul exploited the massive donut hole in the UE defensive paint with 25 points on 7 for 12 shooting, 13 rebounds, four assists, and two swats.

UST's Ed Daquioag also came up large for Jarencio, with 19 markers off just 26 minutes of burn. The kid from Dingras, Ilocos Norte also led the team with six assists.

“Maraming nag-cri-criticize sa kanya” said the Coach of Daquioag. “Pinakita niya na deserving siya, na pwede makipag-compete kahit sinong player.”

Jarencio went far down his bench to see what combination of bench players could help pick up the slack from Teng, who has been averaging 19 points a game. He started Kim Lo at the 2 spot, and also dusted off some of his other reserves.

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Brian So, Robin Tan, Paulo Pe, and Kim Lo may sound like starters of the Chiang Kai-Shek College varsity but each and every one of them was given a run-out. Team Monosyllable mustered just three points, all from So, but that bunch, plus Edcor Marata, helped UST dictate the tempo and keep UE at bay in the first half.

The second half, however, belonged to UST's big guns.

Kevin Ferrer showed his confidence in the third quarter by nailing a trey one possession after flubbing two charities. Ferrer wound up with nine points.

On the next possession UST's Clark Bautista, who ended up with eight points, stunned the Mall Of Asia Arena crowd with a delicious hang time jumper even though Roi Sumang was very much draped over him.

Moments later Ferrer showed he could be a force on defense too, erasing a Bong Galanza attempt.

The Tigers finished the third quarter with three free throws from Mariano after he was tagged by Lord Casajeros beyond the arc, for a 63-56 lead.

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Moments into the fourth Mariano served up a brilliant improvised scoop shot over a UE double team. The and-one made it 67-56.

Problem is, UE never seems to know when it's beaten. Or rather, Roi Sumang doesnt.

Back-to-back three-bombs from Sumang, plus a two pointer, pulled them close, and the game hung in the balance until UST's strong finishing kick. Sumang led UE with 21 points.

UE will rue this effort, since it could have been a much closer game. The stats tell an interesting story.

You might think that with Mammie out that UST would come out the clear winner in the rebounding side of the ledger with Abdul manning the paint. Well, you would think wrong.

Astonishingly, the Red Warriors actually outrebounded UST, 51 to 45. UE hauled down 23 offensive boards against fourteen from the España club.

How did that happen? Well, offensive rebounds opportunities only happen when you miss, and UE did plenty of that. The Red Warriors shot an unimpressive 36.1% from the field (UST managed 42.2%) heaving 82 field goal attempts and seeing all but 30 miss the mark.

The fourth quarter was especially wretched for UE, with the Red Warriors shooting as if they had baseball mitts on both hands, so bad was their touch around the basket.

Oh, and the free throws. UST went to the line 39 times, dropping 29, while UE had only twelve attempts from the stripe, one less than Karim Abdul all by himself.

Abdul's quarter century was a welcome treat for Jarencio, who said in the post game press con that he welcomed the output from his big man, and exhorted his boys to feed him the leather.

Jarencio said he told his charges “Siya lang nag-iibang-kulay ngayon, ayaw mo pang ibigay?” to chuckles from the sports media.

“Last three games, pigsa lang ang pumuputok sa kanya” added Jarencio, of the Cameroonian's subpar scoring.

Jeric Teng is day-to-day, but with this win, coach Pido might not be too eager to rush him back into action. With the Tigers 3-1 they are poised to give the league-leading Tams a run for their money.

Said Jarencio “Pag may adversity, yung leadership, desire to win, lalabas lahat yan.”

Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333.