Tigers end dry spell vs Blue Eagles for 2-0 start

MANILA, Philippines -- The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers finally broke a nine-year losing streak to Ateneo, pulling away in the fourth quarter against the Blue Eagles, 74-64, in UAAP Season 87 men's basketball action at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

It is UST’s first win against Ateneo since UAAP Season 78, when the former defeated the latter, 78-68. The victory also gave them a 2-0 start in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.

Mo Tounkara and Gelo Crisostomo led the way for UST with massive double-doubles.

The former had 16 points and 14 rebounds to go with two assists and a block, while the latter added 16 markers and 10 boards.

In a game that could have gone either way, UST erupted just in time to pull away.

Ateneo led by four, 60-56, after a Josh Lazaro and-one with 8:10 remaining.

Things, then, went all south for the Blue Eagles.

The Tigers slowly strung together point after point led by Tounkara, Nic Cabanero and Mark Llemit while clamping Ateneo on defense.

They unleashed 16 unanswered points to go up by 12, 72-60, with two minutes remaining capped by a bankshot by Cabanero.

The run was halted by a pair of freebies by Sean Quitevis, 62-72, but a pair of free throws by Kyle Paranada iced the game.

UST had 22 assists in the game and shot 28-of-70 from the field. The Tigers also forced Ateneo to commit 12 turnovers, which led to 16 points.

Ateneo, for its part, made 26 of their 62 field goals, good for 41.9%.

Cabanero shook off a slow start to finish with 11 points, six rebobunds and four assists. Llemit sparked the team off the bench with 10 markers on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting.

In his first game against his former team, Forthsky Padrigao had an all-around performance of six points, nine assists and three rebounds. While he shot a horrendous 2-of-12 from the field, he was a +16.

Lazaro finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Eagles, while Shawn Tuano added 13 points and three boards.

UST will try to win its third straight game against Adamson, while Ateneo will attempt to crash into the win column against defending champion La Salle. Both games will be on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.