MANILA, Philippines -- The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers tightened their grip on the fourth spot of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament after quelling a furious rally by the University of the East Red Warriors, 76-67, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UST thwarted bomb after bomb by UE and recovered just in time to secure the emotional victory, which led them to gain a little bit of separation from other teams trying to grab a coveted seat in the Final Four.
Nic Cabañero finished with a season-high 27 points, with 19 coming in the first half. He also had eight rebounds and an assist. Gelo Crisostomo added 14 points and seven rebounds.
The Tigers started the game waxing hot, rushing to a double-digit lead as early as the first quarter. They turned it up a notch in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 27, 41-14, after an and-one by Cabanero.
The Red Warriors, though, stormed back.
They were able to slowly nip away the lead and were able to cut the deficit to just five, 64-69, thanks to the eruption of Jack Cruz-Dumont with less than three minutes remaining.
But Cabañero answered with an and-one play to push the UST lead back to eight, 72-64.
A split from the line by Devin Fikes cut the lead anew to seven, but free throws by Christian Manaytay gave UST enough breathing room.
Wello Lingolingo tried to spark another run with a floater with 59.4 seconds to go, but free throws by Cabañero set the final score.
“Yung mga players hindi bumigay until the end. Naging consistent kami. Syempre meron ding run ang UE pero kami naman we’re focused especially last two games namin kasi magdidictate ito kung makakapasok kami sa Final Four,” said Growling Tigers head coach Pido Jarencio.
Manaytay added 10 markers and seven boards for the España-based squad.
Cruz-Dumont had 19 points, with 15 coming in the second half. Lingolingo and Fikes had 13 and 12 markers, respectively.
It was a physical game to say the least, with both Mo Tounkara and Crisostomo being left bloodied.
Tounkara exited the game in the second quarter after a collision left him bloodied with Precious Momowei, but the former eventually reentered midway through the third period.
Come the fourth quarter, Crisostomo was at the receiving end of an unintentional elbow from Momowei, which also left him dripping with blood. Momowei was slapped with a disqualifying foul and he could be suspended for one game.
UST is now holding a 6-7 win-loss record with one game remaining in the eliminations. Its latest win ultimately eliminated the 3-9 Ateneo Blue Eagles from playoff contention.
The Tigers are currently ahead of the 5-8 FEU, 4-7 Adamson and 4-8 NU. Meanwhile, UE dropped to 6-6 but is half a game ahead of UST for the third spot.