UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas (UST) snapped its four-game skid in University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 88 mens basketball action with a 107-97 victory over cellar-dwelling University of the East (UE) Wednesday afternoon at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Growling Tigers, reeling from consecutive narrow defeats to Adamson University and University of the Philippines, leaned on the balanced offensive effort from Nic Cabañero, Gelo Crisostomo and Nigerian center Collins Akowe to secure their first win in over a month.
Their last victory came after a 5-1 start to the season.
UST had last triumphed over Far Eastern University on October 15 but went into a tailspin afterward with its scheduled rematch last Sunday postponed due to Super Typhoon ‘Uwan.’
With this morale-boosting win, the Growling Tigers climbed to solo fourth in the eight-team standings with a 6-5 record, creating separation from fifth-placed Ateneo (5-5) and sixth-placed Adamson University (5-6).
‘Credit to the players for overcoming adversity, they stuck together,’ said UST assistant coach Japs Cuan as head coach Pido Jarencio has yet to appear in a post-game press conference during the team’s six wins this season.
Kent Pastrana, meanwhile, unleashed a career-high 35 points as UST secured a playoff for a twice-to-beat advantage in the women’s tournament with a commanding 125-50 victory also over UE.
Following up on a 25-point performance against UP last November 5, Pastrana raised the bar and hit 13-of-21 from the field while with 12 rebounds, five steals, two assists and one block.
She finished with an efficient plus-50 rating in 18 minutes and 51 seconds of action.
‘I am so happy with my performance today,’ Pastrana said. ‘I give it my best every game and, of course, as a leader.’
The Growling Tigresses remained unbeaten through 11 games and are boasting an average winning margin of 37 points per contest.