Growling Tigresses record second-best offense and defense in first-round of S85
By Ernest Martin Tuazon
After a six-win and one-loss record at the end of the first-round of the UAAP Season 85 women’s basketball tournament, the consistency of Growling Tigresses on both ends of the floor is what propelled them to the second seed, a game behind the unblemished dynasty of the NU Lady Bulldogs.
Note: All of these statistics are given by the UAAP’s Media Team and are solely averages of the Tigresses through the first round of UAAP Season 85. All league leaders are only counted if they have played in four games.
Team metrics after the first round of play
The Tigresses were ranked second in the league for their offense, making an average of 84.71 points per contest.
Overall, UST was efficient with their offensive arsenal as they also placed second in total field goal percentage with 41.49 percent (229-of-552). In the two-point area, they nailed 155-of-319 (48.59-percent) of their attempts, good for another second finish behind NU’s 56.52 percent. From beyond the arc, they led the league with a 31.76 shooting clip (74-of-233).
Despite an under-manned lineup of 12 players and without a foreign-student athlete, the Tigresses were second in the league in points scored in the paint with 36.86 points. On the flip side, they led the entire UAAP in perimeter points with 39.14 markers per contest, a wire-to-wire statistic compared to the second-placed NU Lady Bulldogs who scored 28.14 points in the area.
For their defense, the Tigresses were credited second as they held their opponents to an average of only 61.0 points per match.
The Tigresses ranked second among three defensive categories; fastbreak points allowed with 9.71 points, second chance points with 6.86 points per contest, and turnover points allowed with 10.29 points given off their errors.
UST allowed other universities 21.86 points per contest in the perimeter for a close second behind NU’s 20.14 markers given. In the shaded area, the Tigresses gave up 25.71 points for yet another second-place finish to NU and DLSU’s 23.71 points in the paint allowed.
First round league leaders in individual statistics
Tigresses star Tacky Tacatac cracked into the top three in scoring, with an average of 16.71 points per game on 39.62 percent shooting from the field and 33.8 percent from beyond the arc (24-of-71).
Tacatac was followed by Eka Soriano, who placed fourth in the scoring department with 16.43 points per game on a 41.84 percent clip, with most of her field goals coming from within the arc (29-of-62, 46.7 percent).
Soriano led the league in assists and steals with 7.29 dimes and 4.29 steals per contest.
Brigette Santos also made her way into the top five with 4.71 assists per game, while Rocel Dionisio cemented her spot in the block department with 1.0 blocks per match, good for fourth-best in the league.
The UST Growling Tigresses aim to continue their strong showing in the second round of play as they open their campaign against the DLSU Lady Archers (5–2) on Saturday, 8:00 a.m, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
