Tigers climb back from 19-point hole to stun Eagles
Upset with the Growling Tigers’ horrendous first-half showing, University of Sto. Tomas coach Pido Jarencio vented his ire on the team’s board inside their dug-out.
And whatever Jarencio wanted to convey, it clearly jolted the Tigers back to their senses.
Banking on a torrid third-quarter onslaught, UST overcame a nightmarish start to hack out a nail-biting 71-70 victory over Ateneo Thursday, proving that the Growling Tigers are a genuine force to reckon with in the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball tournament.
Aljon Mariano, back after a sitting out last year with an injury, scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the third canto to spark the Tigers' run, but it was the combined clutch exploits of Jeric Teng and Cameroon import Karim Abdul that preserved the much-awaited win, their first over the Blue Eagles in 13 outings in the last six years.
“Nakatsamba rin sa wakas,” stated UST coach Pido Jarencio, whose charges were smarting from a stinging 72-73 setback inflicted by Far Eastern University in the opener last Saturday .
“Hindi naman pwedeng lagi tayong umiiyak at naghihinagpis. Siyempre darating rin ‘yung panahon na ‘yung araw liliwanag rin sa’min. ‘Yun ang araw na dumating sa’min ngayon,” added Jarencio, who also had his blood pressure checked at the team’s bench at the start of the third canto.
“Nag 140 over 100 ‘yung bp (blood pressure) ko. May nag-trigger kasi,” added the former UST Golden Goldie hotshot, who is bidding to duplicate his stirring feat in his coaching debut in 2006 when he steered the Espana-bbased cagers to their 19th title also against Norman Black and Ateneo.
Teng added 16 points while Abdul scored his team’s last four markers, including the game-clinching lay-up off Greg Slaughter that gave the Tigers a 71-67 lead with 10.3 seconds left.
“Tingin ko law of averages,” noted Jarencio, whose last win over Ateneo came on Aug. 4, 2007 via an 87-74 decision at the Cuneta Astrodome. “Nung first half, tinakbuhan kami. Pero nung second half, nakita naming pababa yung laro nila. Siguro napunta na rin sa’min ‘yung momentum. Malaking bagay rin ‘yung pagkakasuntok ko ng board dun sa dug-out.”
And the 6-foot-3 Mariano, who failed to suit up last season due to a fractured right ankle, gamely took Jarencio’s act to his heart and sparked UST’s big 30-point output to take a 58-54 lead into the fourth.
“Nalaman ko nga na sabi ni coach Norman na pinaghahandana nila ako. Kaya pinatunayan ko talagang dapat lang talaga. Sobrang tagal ng drought naming kaya masaya ako. Masarap talunin ang Ateneo dahil malakas talaga sila,” stated Mariano, who suffered the injury in a tune-up game heading heading to Season 74.
Guard Kiefer Ravena paced Ateneo with 19 points but 13 of them coming in the first 20 minutes when he gave the Blue Eagles their biggest lead at 39-20 at the 2:34 mark of the second quarter.
Nico Salva collected 17 markers, 11 in the first half, plus eight boards while Slaughter, plagued by foul trouble, had a listless outing of nine points, five of them coming in the charity stripe, on top of five boards and six blocks.
Ranged against his smaller counterparts, Abdul and 6-foot-4 Paolo Pe, Slaughter failed to use his size and heft to the hilt as he was clearly pushed out of his comfort zone.
“They (UST) did a good job defending me,” said Slaughter, who dominated Adamson with 17 points and 10 boards in their 73-57 win last Sunday.
