UST edges San Beda, enters PCCL Finals
Photo by John Paul R. Autor, The Varsitarian
Randolph B. Leongson
The Journalese
With a berth in the finals of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) hanging in the balance, the UST Growling Tigers turned to an ex-Bedan to buck a miserable first half showing en route to taming another beast.
Aljon Mariano scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half as UST stopped the NCAA champions San Beda Red Lions, 63-60, to secure a spot in the best-of-three championship series of the PCCL Friday at the Arena in San Juan.
"Gusto ng mga bata na manalo eh," said UST coach Pido Jarencio. "Andun yung killer instinct ng mga bata. Hindi nawawala yung kanilang desire to win."
Karim Abdul, who came in the arena about ten minutes before tip-off, contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds after struggling early against the Mendiola-based big men. Jeric Teng added 12 of his own, to go with his eight boards, while Kevin Ferrer had eight.
The biggest story was the Espana-squad's diminutive point guard Jeric Fortuna who had a dozen rebounds, to go with his four points and three assists.
"Siguro ganyan talaga ang ugali ng team. Sa end game pinapasarap, gusto pahirapan muna," said Jarencio.
The Tigers struggled coming off the gate as they had a measly 36-percent field goal shooting in the first half, against the Red Lions' 51 percent.
Behind Art dela Cruz and Kyle Pascual, who was dead-shot from the perimeter, San Beda erected a 13-point lead, 30-17, with eight minutes to play in the second canto, before Mariano started the uprising to close the gap at four, 39-35, at the half.
Abdul finally found his range in the third as the Tigers recovered in the third, outscoring the Red Lions, 18-9, to grab the lead at 53-48.
Mariano, a former team B player for the San Beda Red Cubs, converted on a tough lay-in to push UST ahead, 63-58, with two minutes to play, but was quickly answered by a Kyle Pascual jumper to put San Beda just behind by a single-possession, 63-60.
With the game clock slowly ticking away, Beda's graduating team captain Anjo Caram missed a potential game-tying trey with four seconds to play. Jeric Teng recovered the ball from the sidelines and passed it to Mariano as the buzzer sounded.
The Tigers dominated the boards yet again, grabbing 51 rebounds, 18 of which are offensive, compared to San Beda's 32 rebounds, where only five came off of their misses.
UST will close out their round robin semifinals with the Cesafi champs Southwestern U cobras on Sunday, 2 p.m. at the Filoil Flying V Arena, while the Red Lions will battle the Ateneo Blue Eagles for the right to face UST in the national championships at 4 p.m. J
The Scores:
UST 63 - Mariano 16, Abdul 12, Teng 12, Ferrer 8, Daquioag 5, Afuang 4, Fortuna 4, Bautista 2, Pe 0, Lo 0.
San Beda 60 - Pascual, K. 18, Dela Cruz 10, Koga 10, Mendoza 6, Caram 5, Pascual 4, Amer 4, Dela Rosa 3, Ludovice 0.
Quarters: 15-25, 35-39, 53-48, 63-60.
The Journalese
With a berth in the finals of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) hanging in the balance, the UST Growling Tigers turned to an ex-Bedan to buck a miserable first half showing en route to taming another beast.
Aljon Mariano scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half as UST stopped the NCAA champions San Beda Red Lions, 63-60, to secure a spot in the best-of-three championship series of the PCCL Friday at the Arena in San Juan.
"Gusto ng mga bata na manalo eh," said UST coach Pido Jarencio. "Andun yung killer instinct ng mga bata. Hindi nawawala yung kanilang desire to win."
Karim Abdul, who came in the arena about ten minutes before tip-off, contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds after struggling early against the Mendiola-based big men. Jeric Teng added 12 of his own, to go with his eight boards, while Kevin Ferrer had eight.
The biggest story was the Espana-squad's diminutive point guard Jeric Fortuna who had a dozen rebounds, to go with his four points and three assists.
"Siguro ganyan talaga ang ugali ng team. Sa end game pinapasarap, gusto pahirapan muna," said Jarencio.
The Tigers struggled coming off the gate as they had a measly 36-percent field goal shooting in the first half, against the Red Lions' 51 percent.
Behind Art dela Cruz and Kyle Pascual, who was dead-shot from the perimeter, San Beda erected a 13-point lead, 30-17, with eight minutes to play in the second canto, before Mariano started the uprising to close the gap at four, 39-35, at the half.
Abdul finally found his range in the third as the Tigers recovered in the third, outscoring the Red Lions, 18-9, to grab the lead at 53-48.
Mariano, a former team B player for the San Beda Red Cubs, converted on a tough lay-in to push UST ahead, 63-58, with two minutes to play, but was quickly answered by a Kyle Pascual jumper to put San Beda just behind by a single-possession, 63-60.
With the game clock slowly ticking away, Beda's graduating team captain Anjo Caram missed a potential game-tying trey with four seconds to play. Jeric Teng recovered the ball from the sidelines and passed it to Mariano as the buzzer sounded.
The Tigers dominated the boards yet again, grabbing 51 rebounds, 18 of which are offensive, compared to San Beda's 32 rebounds, where only five came off of their misses.
UST will close out their round robin semifinals with the Cesafi champs Southwestern U cobras on Sunday, 2 p.m. at the Filoil Flying V Arena, while the Red Lions will battle the Ateneo Blue Eagles for the right to face UST in the national championships at 4 p.m. J
The Scores:
UST 63 - Mariano 16, Abdul 12, Teng 12, Ferrer 8, Daquioag 5, Afuang 4, Fortuna 4, Bautista 2, Pe 0, Lo 0.
San Beda 60 - Pascual, K. 18, Dela Cruz 10, Koga 10, Mendoza 6, Caram 5, Pascual 4, Amer 4, Dela Rosa 3, Ludovice 0.
Quarters: 15-25, 35-39, 53-48, 63-60.