At one point during the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament, University of Santo Tomas looked like a prime Final Four contender.
Recently, though, the Growling Tigers took a dangerous slide down the ladder.
Their 89-88 loss to Univeristy of the Philippines on Wednesday didn’t help their cause at all as they slid to a 5-5 record.
‘We looked at the team standings and everyone’s so close to each other and that goes for all the teams,’ Nic Cabañero said. ‘The Final Four race this year is different. Even number one isn’t safe. It’s dangerous.’
After starting out strong with a 5-1 record, UST has fallen into an ongoing four-game losing streak.
There are currently three teams with 5-5 records alongside UST-Adamson and Ateneo-all in a logjam for the fourth seed.
National U is atop the pecking order with an 8-2 card, but even they can’t relax with the Maroons (7-3) and La Salle (6-4) creeping closely behind.
‘This is really a test of our character. It’s sad that we lost this one, personally, I’m down but we’re all still together,’ Cabañero said of the loss to UP.
‘This is really how basketball is. Everyone can’t win. One will win and one will lose.’
The only team currently ruled out of playoff contention is the University of the East, which has a 0-10 card.