November 23, 2025 | 7:02pm
MANILA, Philippines — University of Santo Tomas punched its ticket to the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball Final Four after stunning the top-seeded National University Bulldogs, 80-71, Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Growling Tigers rose to 8-5 in the standings, good for solo third, with one more game. NU, on the other hand, dropped to 11-3 to end its elimination round campaign.
UST is now ahead of the fourth-seeded La Salle Green Archers, who are holding a 7-6 win-loss record, as well as Far Eastern University and Ateneo, both with 6-7 slates.
Gelo Crisostomo sparked the Tigers off the bench with 13 points and five rebounds, to go with a block and a steal. Mark Llemit, Amiel Acido and Collins Akowe each had 11 markers.
NU led by seven points, 52-45, in the third quarter after back-to-back layups by Mun dela Cruz.
UST then waxed hot and unleashed a 13-1 run to grab a 58-53 lead heading to the fourth quarter.
The blitz was broken by an early layup by Omar John, but the Tigers’ furious rally continued as their advantage grew to 11, 66-55, with back-to-back triples by Crisostomo and Llemit, as well as a short deuce by Kyle Paranada.
NU tried to claw their way back, but UST found answer after answer to keep their opponents at bay.
The nearest the Bulldogs got to was the nine-point spread at the end of the game.
Paranada and Nic Cabanero had nine points each, while Forthsky Padrigao had eight.
John flexed his muscles with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Nath Tulabut backstopped with 10 markers and three boards. Tebol Garcia had nine points.
It will now all boil down to one gameday for the fourth and final spot on Wednesday. The Tigers will take on FEU, while Ateneo will tussle up with La Salle.
If one of, or both, the Tamaraws and the Blue Eagles lose, they are eliminated from semifinal contention and La Salle will complete the Final Four.
A La Salle victory will give them the outright semifinal berth, even if FEU wins, since the former will have an 8-6 slate while the latter has 7-7.
If either Ateneo or FEU win, and La Salle loses, a playoff for the Final Four will commence. But if both the Eagles and the Tamaraws win, it will trigger a stepladder playoff as all three remaining teams will have 7-7 records.