Tigers rally in the fourth to upend Bulldogs
University of Santo Tomas started like a diesel-powered truck but turned into a speeding Ferrari in the pivotal turn.
With Jeric Teng leading the charge, the Growling Tigers overcame a sluggish start to humble a stunned National University crew 77-71 Saturday noon and further underscored their readiness to genuinely contend in the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball championship at the MOA Arena.
Now on his fourth year, Teng drilled in 15 of his team-best 21 points in the second canto where the Tigers found themselves in an early 14-point hole before the other Tigers picked up from where he left off in the decisive second half push, en route to their second straight come-from-behind win.
“Naka-tsamba na naman,” beamed UST coach Pido Jarencio, whose wards were coming off a nine-day break since pulling the rug from under four-time defending champion Ateneo 71-70 last July 19.“Malakas lang panalangin dahil maraming nagdadasal na pari sa’min.”
The earliest match yet–which started at 11 in the morning– served as a perfect appetizer for the keenly-awaited Ateneo-La Salle matchup set at 4 in the afternoon.
And Jarencio gamely pointed to the peculiar schedule as the culprit behind his wards’ slow start, saying: “Alas dose pa dapat ang gising ng mga players. Nag-iba tuloy ang body clock nila pati ‘yung (oras ng) pagkain. Nung alas onse, oras pa ng pag-aaral nila ‘yun. Pero pagdating ng alas dose, oras na naming ‘yun. Uminit na ang diesel at hindi na napigilan.”
Cameroon import Karim Abdul added 11 markers, five coming in the third, and game-high 15 rebounds while comebacking forward Aljon Mariano and Jeric Fortuna combined for 16 points in the second half to finish with 10 apiece for the UST.
“Mas malakas puso namin nun’ second half,” added Jarencio.
Interestingly, the Tigers should have been sitting at the top of the eight-team field had they avoided a fourth-quarter meltdown against pace-setting Far Eastern University that resulted to a stinging 72-73 defeat last July 14.
Reigning MVP Bobby Ray Parks finished with a game-high 25 points but could only muster five in the payoff period, no thanks to the lockdown defensive blanket employed by Teng and Kevin Ferrer.
Emmanuel Mbe and starting guard Jelo Alolino tallied 13 points apiece while Jeoffrey Javillonar contributed 11 markers for the Bulldogs, who dropped their second loss in four outings.
Behind the red-hot shooting of Parks, the Bulldogs got off to a rousing start and enjoyed their biggest lead at 29-15 off an eight-to-nothing run early in the second quarter. Teng, however, also put on a scoring show, helping the Tigers charge back and trimming the deficit to a manageable 36-41 at the break.
With Parks starting to cool off offensively, Mbe and Alolino took the cudgels for NU in the third canto and preserved the Bulldogs’ lead at 60-53 heading into the fourth.
Three straight triples by the Tigers gave UST its first taste of the lead at 68-66 but Parks quickly answered with a trey.
Then the Espana-based cagers, showcasing their balanced offensive attack, uncorked seven straight points in the stretch to post a 75-69 spread while the Bulldogs completely floundered under immense pressure.
“Never say die pa rin kami. Sabi nga ni coach (Pido), down or lamang, fight pa rin kami. Motivated ako dahil alam ko kung sa’n papunta ang team. Confident ako sa chances this year,” disclosed Teng, who also hauled down 11 boards.
