Second half woes trouble UST, suffer third straight loss to Ateneo
By Joie Frances Timbas
The UST Growling Tigers received its third consecutive loss after its downfall came in the second half halftime against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, in the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament, 52–79 Wednesday morning, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The lopsided match was not so lopsided during the first half.
In the first frame, UST’s team captain Paul Manalang’s return, after missing a game due to an injury, seemed to have boosted the Tigers’ confidence as they trailed by four points, 14–18.
This continued onto the second salvo as the boys from España outscored ADMU, 18–15, making it a one-point ball game by halftime, 32–33.
Tides turned right at the start of the third frame as the Tigers suffered an early 0–10 run. Foreign big man Adama Faye incurred his fourth foul through offense, triggering a small squabble between the two teams.
Faye and Ateneo Coach Tab Baldwin exchanged words and were both tagged for technical fouls, which was Faye’s fifth to foul out for the game.
UST closed out the quarter, unable to recover from the gap, 43–57.
The gap doubled as UST could not get a hold of momentum by the final frame by only scoring nine points to suffer a 29-point defeat, 52–79.
Three players from Katipunan scored double digits whereas only Nic Cabanero and Ivan Lazarte grabbed 12 and 11 markers, respectively.
The Tigers fell to a 1–3 standing as they look forward to their next game against the UE Red Warriors on Sunday, 8AM at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
UST 52 — Cabañero 12, Lazarte 11, Faye 8, Pangilinan 5, Manalang 5, Duremdes 5, Garing 4, Magdangal 2, Manaytay 0, Calimag 0, Laure 0, Mantua 0, Herrera 0, Escobido 0, Gesalem 0.
ATENEO 79 — Padrigao 20, Ildefonso 10, Ballungay 10, Koon 7, Kouame 7, Chiu 5, Quitevis 5, Andrade 3, Gomez 3, Garcia 3, Fornilos 3, Lazaro 2, Daves 1, Fetalvero 0, Ong 0, Lao 0.
Quarters: 14–18, 32–33, 43–57, 52–79
