Following its monumental win over Ateneo in triple overtime, University of Santo Tomas kept up its winning ways after beating Far Eastern University, 92-80, on Wednesday.
The Growling Tigers trounced the skidding Tamaraws to improve their record to 5-1, tied with National U at the top spot.
This latest UST win also didn’t come easily as it struggled to put away a pesky FEU side until a late-game surge.
‘First of all, FEU is a very tough team because, not until Gelo sank those triples, it was a 50-50 game,’ UST assistant CJ Balingit said. ‘All throughout the game, we’ll lead then they’ll chase that lead. We were just exchanging stops and shots.’ The Growling Tigers were barely leading, 74-73, with 6:56 left to play before they unloaded a decisive 16-7 run to gain some much-needed distance.
Gelo Crisostomo starred in that pullaway with two triples, giving UST a 90-80 lead with 2:12 to go in the game. He ended his solid showing with 14 points and seven rebounds. Kyle Paranada paced UST on offense with 19 points while Collins Akowe tallied a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Usual go-to scorer Nic Cabañero added 14 to his name.
FEU dropped its second straight game after a loss to University of the Philippines on Sunday as it reeled to a 1-5 record, just a game ahead of winless University of the East.
Janrey Pasaol scored a game-high 22 points for the Tamaraws, but to no avail.