UST back in the finals after ousting NU
University of Santo Tomas coach Pido Jarencio was in his usual self when he showed up at the post-game conference Saturday: Cracking a big smile and repeatedly nodding with approval.
He, along with his Growling Tigers, now have the luxury to do so. After six long years, UST is back in the finals.
Heeding Jarencio’s call, the Growling Tigers showed their grit to the hilt to survive a late-game fightback by the Bulldogs of National University via a thrilling 63-57 victory that enabled UST to make its much-awaited return to the finals of the UAAP Season 75 men’s basketball action at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Foremost among those who showed sheer determination was lanky forward Kevin Ferrer, who bucked a bum stomach by drilling in a new season high of 17 points, 15 coming in the first half spiked by three triples, while making life miserable for soon-to-be-named back-to-back MVP Ray Ray Parks of NU.
Cameroon import Karim Abdul, who ended up a close second in MVP race, added 15 markers and Aljon Mariano had 14, 10 off the free throw line, as the Tigers hung tough in the crunch to stave off the Bulldogs and punch their finals ticket for the first time since hoisting the title in 2006 during the debut of Jarencio.
“After six years, andito na,” beamed Jarencio. “It’s about desire. Pinag-hirapan ng mga bata ‘to. Blessing in disguise na from the start, hindi tayo pinag-uusapan.”
The Tigers, the second-ranked squad in the eliminations with a 10-4 mark, will now waiting for the winner between four-time defending champion Ateneo and La Salle in the other semis pairing being played at press time.
Whoever comes out to be their finals rivals, Jarencio is unfazed, saying: “Basta kami hindi na namumurublema. Poprobelamahin na lang namin ‘yung mananalo sa kabila. Ang team na ‘to ready, kahit sino.”
Hounded by the Ferrer-led Tigers defense throughout, Parks groped all game long, settling for just 12 points–his second-lowest output this season–on 4-of-12 shooting from the field along with ten boards and four assists, but those went in the drain for the Bulldogs, who made their first semis appearance since 2001.
“Unang una hindi ko inaasahan ‘to dahil na-confine ako. ‘Yung pagdepensa kay Parks, alam kong ‘yung ang ikakapanalo namin,” stated Ferrer, who also hauled down four boards.
Backstopping Parks was Jeoffrey Javillonar who had 15 markers and 11 boards but no other Bulldog reached double figures in points, with Joshua Alolino held to just eight.
Jarencio, who momentarily shelved his easy-going aura in phone interviews, defended himself, saying: ““After the game, ‘pag maganda nagyari, nakikipagbiruan na lang ako. Tapos na–nakapag-isip na tayo ng malalim at nakapagplano na. Ngayon, enjoy naman tayo kahit papa’no. Bigyan naman natin ng sigla ‘yung sarili natin. Pang-alis lang ng stress.”
Trailing 38-43 midway in the third, the Bulldogs uncorked an 11-2 run–capped by Robin Rono’s lay-up–to gain a 49-45 cushion but the Tigers returned the favor, scoring 11 of the last 12 points for a 56-50 lead into the fourth.
A Fortuna trey padded UST’s lead to 59-50 at the 7:59 mark before NU, ignited by an air-tight 2-3 zone defense, answered back with seven straight points for a 57-59 deficit, guaranteeing a down-the-wire finish.
With the match turning into a defensive battle, Mariano squeaked in a timely bucket, sparing the Tigers’ blushes with a 61-57 cushion, time down to just 1:53.
As expected, the Bulldogs turned to Parks to save the day, but the soon-to-be-named Most Valuable Player failed, bungling two straight attempts and turning the ball over off an inbound pass.
After a Mariano miss, Parks took the back seat, opting to feed Villamor and Javillonar but his teammates came up short.
Off an NU timeout, another triple attempt by Javillonar failed to hit the mark, with Ferrer pegging the final count with a break-away lay-up and sending the dominantly yellow-clad crowd into jubilation.
“Breaks of the game na rin. Kung sino ‘yung may kagustuhang manalo. Maganda naman nilaro ng NU kaso hindi na rin sila naka-shoot. Nahirapan na rin sila,” Jarencio noted, before adding: "This is for the UST community–sa mga alumni, estudyante, maga kaparian at sa mga magulang ng mga players ko. Inspired kami dahil sa kanila.”
Meanwhile, seldom-used NU forward Kyle Neypes, a former Tiger Cub, was sent to the showers early after incurring two technical fouls in the second canto.
